Gold. Crowns. Goblets. Coins. Such are the images that flood our minds when we think of ‘hidden treasure’. But, as the infamous treasure hunter and pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow would say, “Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.”
And Jesus would heartily agree, Jack. In fact, on one particular day, as Jesus attempted to explain the Kingdom of God through the use of parables about sowing seeds, pulling weeds, and mustard seeds, Jesus threw out a one-line wonder of a parable about hidden treasure:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
Matthew 13:44
It seems that hidden treasures are of universal intrigue and appeal to humans of all eras. And, when one finds such a trove, they hide it until they can bring it home – even if it requires all they possess to claim it as their own. Jesus’ point? That, like treasures, the Kingdom of God…
- is valuable – beyond measure.
- has to be sought out.
- has an essence of hiddenness that can make finding it both exhilarating and frustrating.
- is worth the cost – even if the cost is everything.
Keeping these truths about the treasures of God’s Kingdom in mind, we’ll better persevere in our quest for more of God in our lives.
This summer we’re going on a ‘hunt’ whose yield is eternal and priceless because we’ll unearth truths not only about God’s Kingdom but God Himself. And as we learn more about Him, our faith will strengthen in the knowing of His true character. We’ll also explore His promises and all the ways He’s kept them – so that we’ll better believe that our God is always and forever Promise Keeper. In the end, these jewels of discovery will enrich our faith-life and empower us to live with greater trust of the One who is always with us.
So, let’s ready ourselves to follow Jesus’ lead as we seek all the goodness that awaits us. And, let’s carry with us the promise that God “will give [us] hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that [we] may know that [He is] the Lord” (Isaiah 45:3).
Doubt
For our treasure hunt, we’ll start each week identifying a ‘doubt’ we tend to carry within us – much like a burden that keeps us from moving forward in full faith. As one who has begun identifying the role ‘shame’ has in my faith-life, it’s my heart to help us climb out of the pit of doubt and into the freedom only Christ can give.
So. For this first week, let’s tackle a big, often hidden, doubt: Is God worthy of our faith, worship, trust, love? Perhaps beneath this question is an even deeper one – Is God real?
Even for those of us who are lifelong Christians, there are moments, or even seasons, when we come up for air in a panic, wondering if God is really there. Sometimes that kind of doubt hits us briefly because of the chaos of living this life. Other times, we might sincerely struggle with God’s realness for months or years. Jennie Allen shares her months of living with such tormented thoughts in her book Get Out of Your Head. And she had to finally share it with godly friends – friends who spoke God’s truth over her – before the haze of such doubt could begin to lift.1
With that said, this is a No Shame Zone. Our doubts are real. We can try to deny them and act like ‘everything’s fine’, or we can name them – and move through them.
Is God real? Is He worthy? We’ve named it. Now let’s move forward…
Dig
In my own life, those moments of frenzied fear about God’s realness knock the air out of me – but I make. myself. breathe. And once my breathing returns to normal, I try to identify why I’m feeling the way I do.
Most recently, the ‘attack’ of panic came when I’d had a lot of days alone. When it’s just me by myself for long lengths of time, I can lose my bearings a bit. I can get lost in my work and move through my day on auto-drive. Only to get hit with crippling fear that wonders if it’s all a sham. What if my philosophy professor was right – there is no God? What if I’m leading others astray? What if…
And the ‘what if’s’ become my clue. The enemy is at work. He’s trying to get me off task, off track. He knows that if I let my doubt spiral, I’ll be too paralyzed to live my life for God and His Kingdom.
To get my muddled mind and careening emotions righted, I open God’s Word.
NOTE: When we can ‘dig’ into ourselves and our stories, we can pinpoint what’s amiss and move toward our Father. Digging can also help us look back to see all the ways God has met us at every turn in our pasts – and that kind of remembering fills our pockets with nuggets of faith and hope that will carry us through our current season because we remember God is faithful.
Dig Deeper
Once we’ve named our doubt and dug into our experiences, it’s time to do some excavating – and the only way to come against doubt is with God’s Word. This kind of dig requires effort, as well as a willingness to receive whatever truths God has for us.
NOTE: Sometimes it’s hard to accept what God has for us because the Truth doesn’t fit our life-experiences. For instance, if someone has been raised by an abusive father, their experience tells them that no father (perhaps no person of authority) can be trusted. So while the experience is real, the resulting assumption is not always truth.
Similarly, our spiritual experiences are limited and can cause us to have diminished expectations of God:
“It’s easy to define my expectation by my spiritual experience up to this point rather than by the promises of Jesus and witness of Scripture. But what if the gap between biblical promise and my personal experience is a gap God longs to close?”
Tyler Staton2
To uncover the truths that speak to our doubts, we’ll look for Scriptural gems that have been hiding from us, in one way or another. Let’s delve into this week’s ‘Doubt’, specifically — Is God real and worthy? We’ll also add to today’s dig some truths that will reveal what we need for this summer’s treasure hunt, in general:
First, these jewels gleam in the light of God’s personhood and glory, showing us that He is, indeed, a living God and worthy of all our adoration and trust:
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Revelation 4:11
Second, Daniel teaches us that God “reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him” (2:22).
Next, Joshua reminds us, “Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true” (21:45 NLT).
Finally, we take-in the words of the Psalmist:
I will extol the Lord at all times;
Psalm 34:1-3
his praise will always be on my lips.
I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
NOTE: When we uncover a verse that addresses our need, we’ve hit pay-dirt. When we unearth a story from Scripture that illustrates our dilemma, we’ve struck gold. And, when we can look back over the course of biblical history to see all the ways God has kept His promises, we’ve hit the jackpot – because this sort of vicarious remembering builds our trust in the One who never fails and never gives up.
Discovery
All our digging leads to discovery.
We’ve discovered hidden treasure! For our ‘Doubt’, we can now name some truths about God’s character: God is worthy, and He is full of glory. These truths about who God is top the list we will be keeping as we move through the summer. It’s essential to our hearts, minds, and ultimate faith to know these truths about Him; otherwise, our experiences and limited understanding will box Him in. And prevent us from growing spiritually.
To read the words that God is worthy of our praise because He is the only God – that He created us and lives forever – establishes for us a foundation for the rest of our explorations. And every fear that taunts us is quelled because we know for certain, He is God.
To be reminded that God is glorious and deserves all glory causes us to humbly fall before Him in surrender and wholehearted devotion. Such truths expel doubt – even if we have to repeat them over and over until our brains and hearts require no more reminding.
To read the words that God longs to reveal the deep and hidden things – of ourselves, of Himself, of Truth – helps us know that this treasure hunt is worth it because He already knows everything, and He wants to shed some light for us.
To be reminded that God always keeps His promises and that we’re meant to be exalting God moves us to worship Him. Because not only is He worthy but He is trustworthy.
NOTE: A quick word about this series and its structure – the four-part movement from Doubt to Dig to Dig Deeper to Discovery will carry us through the next dozen Sundays of our summer searching. The hope is that the discoveries will become treasure troves of faith-building truths that will equip and empower us as we mature in our spiritual walks with Jesus.
Promises
Each week all our digging will lead us to promises – about God. And it’s good for us to be aware that the truths we uncover about Him will most likely push against some of our realities. Sometimes the push-back might be because our experiences have taught us differently. As real as those experiences have been, they aren’t always representative of the truth of God.*
Other times the tensions arise because we’ve lived in the darkness of our thoughts for so long that we accept them as truth. Or perhaps we feel off-kilter because we’ve just never had such truths laid out for us. So, for whatever reason we might feel such stretching, let’s be prepared for it to happen and know that we’re meant to persevere through it. It’s part of the finding – frustrating, exhilarating. And worth it.
We’re set, ready for all that lies ahead. We shall toss all the hidden gems we find this summer into our backpacks of faith, carrying them with us – their weight reminding us of their needed presence. Today, we take with us truths that God is real and worthy. That He is ready to reveal hidden truths about Himself (and ourselves) so that we can bring them into the light and let them do their healing work in us. Then we stuff that shiny diamond of a verse into our pockets because it tells us that God keeps His promises (Joshua 21:45). Always. And that’s a truth we’ll need to remember. A lot.
We’re off! We’ve officially begun our hunt for Hidden Treasures!
Father God, we greatly anticipate all that we are going to learn about YOU. We recognize in this moment that sometimes we don’t have a clear picture of who You are, so we are grateful that You have already gone before us, preparing all the nuggets of truth that we need so that we have a clear understanding of who You are. Lord Jesus, when we look at your life as captured in Scripture, we better see who God is. Every word You spoke, every act of healing You pursued, every kindness You offered, and every truth You shared paint for us a truer picture of our Father. And we thank You. Holy Spirit, thank You for your presence on this journey as we dig into our hidden places — we know we can trust You to show us what we need to see about ourselves, and that You are safe, nonjudgmental, and full of grace. We pray that You’d help us receive all that God has for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
(inspired by Proverbs 9:10; 2 Peter 3:18; John 14:16-17; Romans 8:1-2; Hebrews 10:29c; 1 Corinthians 2:12)
Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.
- *Understanding the difference between real and true is significant in this journey of naming our doubts and shaping our minds — the “take captive every thought” and “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” kinds of shaping (2 Corinthians 10:5; Romans 12:2).
Joanna Weaver in her book, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World,^ was the first person to tell me the difference between ‘real’ and ‘true’. In her context it had to do with emotions — while every emotion we experience is real, it’s not necessarily true. In my case, those ‘what if’s‘ I spin in my mind create all sorts of scenarios that cause my emotions to spiral — but those scenarios are not truth. Just imagined. Which means my real emotions are also not based on what is true.
The same can be said of our life experiences. If we, as James Bryan Smith would say, have experiences that jade our view of God, it’s important to measure those experiences against the truth of who Jesus shows God to be — because sometimes those experiences give us ‘”false narratives” about who God is (The Good and Beautiful God).^
Real versus true. Hang with me. We’ll get really good at identifying the difference. 😉 - NOTE — I won’t be leaving ‘notes’ all over the place throughout our series. It was just for today in order to establish our structure and rhythms for this series. XOXO
- 1 – Get Out of Your Head^ by Jennie Allen is an incredible resource for aligning our thoughts with truth. I cannot recommend it more! I have read it through multiple times, and it stands as a constant ready-reference. Jennie bravely shares her own story of crippling doubt about God’s realness as the springboard for all she practiced in her own thought life to counter lies, experiences, and doubts that were not based on truth. Friends, these kinds of doubt can keep us hidden from God’s love and light because of the shame they bring to us. But here’s the truth: God is not about shame. Our enemy, however, totally is. I’m honored to learn from Jennie, and I have found much freedom in using the practices she teaches in her book.
- 2 – Lectio 365, Tyler Staton, 5/18/24
- Our Backpack of God’s Attributes is our virtual bag for collecting every characteristic of God we find in all our hunting. Acknowledging God is REAL, we can now load up all we discover about Him. So far:
- God is Worthy — He deserves all glory and honor and praise.
- God is Glorious — He displays His greatness and worth.
- (many thanks to Jen Wilkin and her list, “Attributes of God,” present at the back of every study)
- We have a new Spotify playlist, “Hidden Treasures!” For the most part, the songs on this playlist split their time leading us in praising our God who is Worthy and helping us anchor our hearts in minds in the truths of God’s actual character. And, because it’s summer, I kick it off with a high energy “summer jam” kind of song! This year I’m pulling out a MercyMe favorite, “Happy Dance” — mainly because my own soul has a great need of FUN in this season. And toe-tapping tunes go a long way in breaking me out of my own thoughts and into a surrendered joy of “happy dancing!” Enjoy!
- Here’s to a summer of revelation and faith-building goodness! It’s my hope to bring a little of both into each Wednesday’s “Teacup Video.” You can find all the videos on my Facebook Author Page and Instagram — and…my YouTube ‘channel’!
- The June edition of my newsletter, The Abiding Life is about to hit your inboxes! In this issue I’ll talk more about the way God meets me — even encourages me — in my writing. Man, talk about the way doubts can waylay you… It really happens as we serve in our places of mission and calling, so God works overtime to show us He is in it with us! I’ll also share a little more about our playlist and why I chose some of the songs that I did. I hope you’ll take part! You can subscribe here.
Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike.
PRAISE. Praise is our summer rhythm. And that may sound ‘light’ or even ‘fun’, but I don’t want to set that expectation. Because here’s a truth — praise is meant to be, as one of my pastors recently said, “a ritual of reflection and remembrance.” Praise is not simply throwing words up toward heaven and hoping they stick or make God smile. Praise, which is the speaking of truths about WHO GOD IS, lifts our eyes off our circumstances and back onto the One who can walk us through them. And the Psalms are packed with poems that will lead us through this ritual of reflection and remembrance — until it becomes a rhythm that we fall into naturally.
- This week, let’s read Psalm 77. Things to watch for: 1) the way the Psalmist gets super honest about his feelings (even about God), 2) how his laments shift into words of faith, and 3) how ‘remembering’ plays a role in that shift (ie: verse 11, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.”).
- Sometimes praise is spontaneous — as a response to an experience of God’s goodness or presence. But, often praise is simply obedience to ascribe to our worthy God all that He is due — even when we don’t feel like it. More on this to come!
- And while it’s not a spiritual practice or rhythm, I invite you to share this site. Summer is a great time to ask someone else to join us here — it is a shared journey of faith, for sure!
Featured Photo by Jasmin Ne on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” photo by Zrng N Gharib on Unsplash.
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