Secret Riches
I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name. Isaiah 45:3 (NLT)
“I forgot I had that; it’s beautiful!” In the bottom of one of my bins was a lovely blouse that would have gone well with my slacks. But NO! I had to go out and buy one. Do we have too much? Is life so cluttered that we don’t know what we have or where things are? Barbara Lumpkins Walls (Mornings with Jesus) has a confession with which many of us can identify.
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My home office is a mess. Old meeting notes, books, journals, notepads, folders, bills, and more are piled high on my desk. There’s so much stuff that I can hardly make heads or tails of it. I’m really not in the mood to tackle the clutter, but my dislike for disorder finally won out. I slowly start to sort through the piles.
I pick up my iPad along with a stack of papers and find buried underneath them a lovely quilt square, a gift homemade by my friend Janet. I had totally forgotten about it. I could have been enjoying its beauty the past several months if I had only kept the clutter at bay.
The assortment of papers and books aren’t the only things that need to be cleared away in my life. I am constantly turning to Jesus to clean up the dark places within me—impatience, anger, stubbornness, selfishness, and self-reliance, just for starters. Even though I may not want to admit these things lie deep within me, Jesus knows they’re there. Just like my beautiful quilt square that was buried by my unsightly piles, treasures from Jesus await me.
FAITH STEP: As you clean a dark space in your home, ponder the dark places within your heart. Ask Jesus for help cleaning them both.
Father God, thank You for all the hidden treasures You help us find. Teach us to be willing to have You shine the light on our darknesses. AMEN.