MATHEW 13:44

Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

 DAILY READING – Matthew 11:1-19; Leviticus 11-12; Proverbs 24

Under the world’s sea beds lie treasures worth  billions of dollars. These are mostly from ships that capsized at one time or the other over the centuries. According to UNESCO, there are as many as three million shipwrecks scattered across the world’s seabed, many carrying treasures.

Probably the largest treasure among them is a Portuguese ship called the Flower of the Sea. It set sail from Malaysia, in 1511 carrying the largest treasure ever assembled in Portugal’s naval history. The ship was caught in a violent storm in the Strait of Malacca, split in two and spilled its precious content into the sea.

Another one is Spain’s treasure Fleet; in 1715, at the height of its empire, Spain assembled one of the richest treasure fleets ever seen – Eleven ships, all filled with silver, gold, pearls and emeralds from the New World. The ships left Cuba just before hurricane season in the hope of deterring pirates, but a few days later a storm sank all eleven ships, sending thousands of sailors and tons of treasure to the bottom of the sea. Though seven of the ships have been found, only a small percentage of the treasures have been recovered.

Under international maritime and salvage law, apart from military wrecks, all other shipwrecks are accessible to anyone in international waters. The question is, with so much treasure buried under the sea, and available, why is everyone not out there digging up these treasures? It is because the cost to access them is not cheap. Buried, thousands of feet under the sea, it requires great funds, equipment, time and tireless search to locate them. This is a price not everyone is willing to pay.

In the same way, stored in the depths of the Word of God are treasures, but they are only accessible to those who are willing to pay the price to access them. Jesus said to Peter in Luke 5, “launch out into the deep and let down your net for a draught”. It is only when you launch out into the deep that you can get a net breaking catch.

The treasures of life are in the deep. We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. God has freely given all to us in Christ Jesus, but it takes the depth of revelation by the Spirit for us to have access. Treasures are available, the issue is ability to pay the required price to access them. Jesus said in Mathew 13:45,  “the Kingdom of God is like a man that discovered a pearl of great worth and went and sold all that he had to purchase it.” And God says in Jeremiah 29, ‘you shall seek Me and find Me when you shall search for me with all your heart.’ When you find God you have found great treasure. Good things are found in Him. It is His power at work in us that brings divine supply and all else we need. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think according to the power that works in us. This was why Jesus never bothered about the supply of daily necessities during His earthly ministry; He had God’s presence and power around Him, He could multiply bread loaves and fishes, turn water into wine, bring money out of the mouth of a fish to pay taxes, have people give him their donkeys and houses without fee. The truth is that He didn’t need money, God’s presence guaranteed supernatural supply and favor.

When you find God’s tangible presence, you have found life’s greatest treasures. It is worthy of note that God’s presence is not found on the surface, it is found in the depth of The Word, through spending time in payer and fellowship with Him. Let us therefore make a fresh commitment today to begin to search the depths of The Word. There are treasures embedded there, there are divine encounters that can transform us. Let us seek God like never before. When we find Him, we have found life’s greatest treasure.

PRAYER: Father please open  my eye to behold the wonders and treasures in Your Word. Give me the grace to dig deep and access great depths in your Word, help  me to move from the shallow waters to the depth of The Word where Your Presence abides in Jesus’ name.

 QUOTE :

The treasures of God are never on the shallow end, but are always buried in the depth of God’s Word. It takes a personal discovery to get there. – WORDBITE 222.

  [ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK TRIUMPH OF LIGHT OVER DARKNESS]