Hidden Treasures

The other night, I was going through the motions of our whirlwind bedtime routine when I noticed one of my children reading their Bible on the living room couch. As I went in and sat down, they turned and hesitated, like they wanted to ask me a question but was afraid. After a little nudging, they asked, "Why does it seem like things I have been praying about for a long time haven't been answered? Why did some really bad things happen this year to the people we care about?" 

God isn't mad at us when we ask Him those questions; the key is found in your heart's response. It's in the dark places--the places we maybe can't see or understand--that we can either push away from our faith or press in. When we press in, our faith in who God is becomes a treasure to us!

I love the faith of small children; it is so pure and so confident. Then, there is also a perseverance that is developed--a maturing, as James refers to. When your child faces some things, that causes their faith to become their own. They must learn that there are some treasures in God that they have to learn to fight for. This conversation was an opportunity for one of those moments. The truth is, even though we hesitate to ask God the questions that we have, He is not shaken by them. There is a reward--a completeness--that comes as we work out our faith through perseverance. 

God doesn't author bad things. God is good, and His gifts are perfect. If you turn your heart toward the Lord, God will use anything the enemy meant to harm you or shake your faith, to establish a faith in you that far exceeds any disappointment you've faced.

Time is wasted meditating on past disappointments; take your concerns to the Lord, and leave them there.  Disappointment can undermine the faith that is available for you when you can't see or don't understand.

Don’t try to figure out the mystery with your mind, but reconcile God’s goodness in your heart.

Hold fast to the truth of God in these times, and the faithfulness of God will become like a priceless treasure in the storehouse of your heart! Disappointments don't define you! Disappointment is not your expectation; God's faithfulness is the only position your heart can rest in!

"Consider it pure joy my brothers when you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work in you so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

There are plenty of opportunities for your faith to be tested, but treasure awaits those who will trust when they don't understand and who will stand firm when there is no evidence of a breakthrough. When we choose to press further into the Lord instead of giving up, we find out what our faith truly consists of.

When you continue to search Him out in seemingly dark times, something in you rises up and you trust Him to lead you into the secret places, and an intimacy is stirred up in your relationship with Him. The depth of intimacy with the Lord established in those times is like no other!

The moments that seemed darkest to me--situations where I couldn't see or understand--were times when I needed to simply trust. In these times, I discovered He is more faithful than I ever realized.

If you want a treasure house filled with the revelation of His faithfulness--a revelation that will mature you and establish you in your walk with God--trust Him with the secret places of your heart. Trust His word through the dark places that you cannot navigate with your own eyes. Seek out truth, and you will find a faithful God!  Don't settle or back down in times of disappointment; God never disappoints. Keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking (Mt 7:7)! Work out your faith!

"Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God working in you to will and act in order to fulfill his good purposes." Philippians 2:13

When you get a revelation of His faithfulness, you get a revelation of who you are in Him.  An awakening to the truth that you are an overcomer and that any trial you face will only affirm the fact that your God is faithful.

Press in, trust, disregard disappointment, and acquire the priceless treasure of revelation of your faithful God!