Have you tried geocaching? It is a recreational activity where participants use GPS coordinates to locate a hidden “treasure”. People hide caches (the treasure you are supposed to find) in places that require varying levels of skill to locate. These locations are then posted on the internet. The prize is never particularly important and you are usually supposed to replace it with another prize of your choice if you choose to take what has been left by the previous person. These geocaches are located all over the world and they are a fun, family-friendly recreational activity.
My family decided to give geocaching a try. We chose a few local targets and set out. Several hours later, I was convinced we were not very good treasure hunters. One location particularly stumped us. We looked in trees, under benches, and along the river bank. We didn’t find anything and so we looked again. We had the same result. We never did find the cache.
After heading to another location and carefully conducting our search we found our treasure. It is nothing special and certainly had no value, but the fact that we had located it together made it meaningful. We had searched for and found it – that made it a treasure that was meaningful to us. It became a symbol of precious time spent together.
Psalm 119:162 refers to God’s word as a treasure. The verse says, “I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure” (NKJV). As I read these words I have to ask myself whether I rejoice at what I expect to find when I open my Bible. Do I treat God’s word as a treasure? Do I approach the Scriptures with excitement for what I will find hidden within the pages? Sometimes yes but, if I’m honest, not all the time. Sometimes I read the Bible because I know I should. I don’t approach God’s word with anticipation or excitement but, instead, turn to it as a second thought when I’m burdened with the cares of life. I know this is not unique to me. Each one of us has times when we forget to turn to God first and that’s okay.
The treasure is still there. God won’t withhold it from us. In fact, it is when we are tired, burdened, and unexpectant that we need the treasure most and God, in His infinite love for us, is ready to meet us when we come before Him. Haven’t we all had a portion of Scripture laid before us that we needed at an exact time in our lives? Haven’t we all turned to the Bible out of desperation only to be gently reminded that our Father is waiting for us, ready to provide all that we need?
We haven’t had to search for it. He has handed it to us. Do we treasure it?
Taking It Further
Can you recall a time where God has handed you a treasure?
