"Your word I have treasured in my heart..." Psalm 119:11a
"Instruction from Your lips is better for me than thousands of gold and silver pieces." Psalm 119:72
"I rejoice over Your promise like one who finds vast treasure." Psalm 119:162
"...furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God." Proverbs 3:3-5
"Accept my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold." Proverbs 8:10
"My fruit is better than solid gold, and my harvest than pure silver." Proverbs 8:19
"There is gold and a multitude of jewels, but knowledgeable lips are a rare treasure." Proverbs 20:15
"I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches from secret places, so that you may know that I, the LORD, the God of Israel call you by your name." Isaiah 45:3
One of my all-time favorite pastime is picking wild mushrooms. Now before you go off on some mind trip imagining me strung out on psychedelic mushrooms, I want to be clear that I am talking about edible, gourmet-type mushrooms – mostly chanterelles. To be out in the middle of a deep, silent, old-growth forest in the mountains of Oregon, foraging for chanterelles on a beautiful, crisp fall day is about as close to Heaven on Earth as I can get. It's like a real, live treasure hunt with the reward being bags of golden 'shrooms. Sometimes they sit out in the open, as if calling, "Come pick me!" Sometimes I just catch a glimmer of gold from beneath a fern frond, a fallen tree, or peaking through the compost on the forest floor. And after digging up that one, I might turn around and see mushrooms I had walked by while zooming in on my previous target -- they weren't visible from my original vantage point, and looking at them from the other direction I can almost hear them laughing at me. There are other times while digging out one of those buried in the compost, that I'll find others that were totally unseen until I started digging for the first. And each mushroom is a promise of a delicious meal to come, or the smile of someone I love enjoying them as well.
This morning's first scripture is a reminder of the treasures found within God's word. The treasures aren't silver, gold or mushrooms. They are the promises of God and the ARE precious: Not only do they affirm his love for us, but God is a great keeper of promises, and if you can learn to pray within God's will by calling upon those promises, he will bless your life abundantly.
These promises are sprinkled throughout the Bible very much like chanterelle mushrooms throughout a forest. Every now and then, they are obvious to me, like when delivered during a sermon or in an emailed devotion. Sometimes, it's as if God points me to just the scripture I need when I need it most. The other day, I was upset because somebody I loved had rebuked me for coming on too strong in sharing my faith. I was so embarrassed and frustrated. I've never been one for forcing my faith upon others (I'm assuming you're reading this voluntarily right now) and I usually try to share only if I think the other person is open to it. Apparently I misjudged this time, and the rebuff really hurt. I poured out my heart to God, asking him to show me if I was in the wrong somehow. Imagine the comfort and love I felt when I read the next morning's email devotion scripture: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." (Matthew 5:11). And then there are times like this morning, when I start looking at one scripture, and my research of it unearths all sorts of other gems I hadn't noticed.
I've never been good at just sitting down and reading the Bible. I have had relatively few instances where I sat down and opened it right up to the words I needed at that time (the few times it happened when I was dealing with the demise of my marriage, when I really needed it most). It works for some people, but I personally have had better "treasure hunts" by using the guidance of devotional sources, like the Encouragement for Today emails I receive from Christianity.com. Sometimes I don't even agree with the message of the day, but then just researching why it is that I disagree has led me to many insights and blessings.
Starting my day with these little treasure hunts has really carried me through some difficult times, and energized me in happy days as well. And the blessing of mushrooms have continued to flow now that I am living a day's drive away from my favorite 'shroom hunting grounds. And when I am sitting down to enjoy a savory dinner of chanterelle mushrooms, chicken and peppers in cream sauce over fresh fettuccine, I am always mindful of one of my all-time favorite Biblical gems:
"Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
you will enjoy the choicest of foods."
Isaiah 55:2
