Treasure Hunting

By Kathleen Harwood

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to rummage around in the attic and find a painting worth millions? Or be digging in your garden and uncover a chest containing a long-lost fortune? Suddenly, and without warning, you are the owner of a priceless treasure! What would you do? Would you put the painting back under the sheet or sell it to the highest bidder? Would you re-bury the fortune or take it to the bank?

Well, several years ago when we were living in North Carolina, I got to watch this play out for a local farmer. One day the farmer was out working on his land when he dug up a 64.83-carat emerald. According to the article in the newspaper, the emerald was not only “the largest cut emerald ever to be found in North America,” but it was so large it compared to the famous emerald crown jewels of Catherine the Great. They named the whopping 65-carat gem the “Carolina Emperor.”

The farmer immediately began to receive offers from people who wanted to purchase the emerald. And although he did not disclose the potential price, the article speculated the emerald would sell for close to 2 million dollars.

Think about the magnitude of this: The farmer owned the Carolina Emperor emerald for years, but because he didn’t know it was there, he didn’t get to live in light of any of the benefits that come as the owner of a 65-carat emerald.  

But now that he’s found it, now that he’s seen it, now that he knows it really exists and that it truly belongs to him, he will live differently. Since finding the emerald, the farmer was quoted as saying, “It will be completely life changing for me, for sure.”

This is not surprising. Of course, the farmer will take advantage of owning this priceless gem, and so would we. The thing is, you are this farmer, and so am I. As believers, we have a great treasure that is guaranteed to impact our lives for good — the Word of God.

But, like the farmer we, too, can go about our lives for years without knowing the benefits God has for us. Or we go about our everyday lives forgetting the treasure that is ours. And the result: We miss out on daily living in all the benefits we have as children of God. 

Look at just some of the benefits David tells us about when we know and live out God’s Word:

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.

Psalm 19:7-11

Do you need to be restored? How about wisdom for what you are dealing with today?  Would you like to be enlightened in how to move forward in your circumstances?

God has provided His great treasure for you and me to know Him and live our lives, today, in light of His great promises. Of course, we know this. As believers, we need to be in God’s Word. But in today’s busy, chaotic world, it’s easy to neglect this very thing that will give us life, wisdom, hope, peace, direction, relationship, and more.

But there’s good news! Beginning Thursday, October 10, you can get some help. Come join us, the women of UFC, to dig into to God’s Word, to know what He says, to discuss it with other believers, to get motivation to be in the Word, and then to live differently because of it.

This fall we are studying the book of Joshua. Joshua faced circumstances he couldn’t control. He had to deal with people who were hostile. He suffered consequences from someone else’s sin. He questioned God’s plan. He was discouraged over events in his life. He got tricked by people he thought he could trust, and the list goes on. Can you relate? 

But it didn’t end for him with these struggles. As we will see as we study, Joshua learned how to call out to God, trust God, turn back to God, and then live as God said. How about you? Could you use some “treasure” in your life this fall? By “digging” into Joshua, we, like the farmer, will get to know our God, learn all He has for us, and it will be “completely life changing, for sure.”