“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
Matthew 13:44 (NAB)
The children of Israel went through extensive humbling while they wandered through the wilderness. They were hungry, thirsty, hot, bitten by snakes, missing all the comforts of home, like their own bed, their favorite foods as well as the lack of abundant drinking water.
Despite being freed from the oppression of slavery in Egypt, they thought the wilderness was the worst thing they ever went through. God separated them from their familiar environment, because He was setting them apart for a new purpose, but they lost sight of the promised land ahead of them. They were inwardly focused, missing the treasures hidden in that wilderness.
The wilderness was only part of their journey, not the final destination. Everyone goes through some kind of wilderness, through a trial that separates them from the comforts of their familiar lifestyle. About five years ago, I went through a stage of feeling completely isolated. I became a widow and the following year was the Covid pandemic. My church closed for months, I was furloughed from my job, and I didn’t see much of friends or family at all.
During that time, I started asking God if I had any gifts and how to use them during this downtime. I read scripture each morning, wrote down what I learned, and then I started writing daily meditations. I never sent them to anyone, but one day I mentioned to my friend Laura what I was doing, and she asked me to send the meditations to her. I did, and it gradually spread to many more people. Until then, I never even knew I loved writing.
The most important lesson I learned in that wilderness of isolation, was to develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit. I began to ask Him specifically for direction, wisdom, gifts and inspiration. When I asked, He answered, by using a friend, and I discovered hidden treasures as new adventures began. I constantly need to remind myself to stay in that relationship with the Holy Spirit.
I recently entered a whole new wilderness last year, when my adult son, Jon, had a serious motorcycle accident.
He went through brain surgery, two weeks in a coma, lying in intensive care and is now living in a long term care facility. In addition to his traumatic brain injury and unknown prognosis, I often feel pushed to the edge with the ongoing frustrations of dealing with the State and my legal guardianship. I have to constantly surrender every situation to Jesus, asking Him to take care of everything.
That’s when the Holy Spirit opened my eyes and I found the treasures hidden in this new wilderness. As I looked around, I saw people in that Nursing Facility who are completely alone, they have no visitors, no hope and no attention from anyone. The treasure I found is in becoming a friend to the friendless, to give a bit of hope to the hopeless, and simply sharing small gestures of kindness with each of them.
We need to remember that we are journeying through a wilderness, but it’s a journey, not a final destination. As I ask the Holy Spirit to show me the hidden treasures, I look around and He points out people with souls, and their needs. As long as I am visiting regularly, I focus on what I can share with those souls at the Nursing facility. For some, it’s a hug, or listening to their story, having conversations, or sharing a tin full of butter cookies and just playing music for them.
I’ve learned that finding treasures, requires looking outside of myself.
If I only look inward, I would dwell on my own frustrations and problems, and feel only despair. Jesus gave us His Spirit to comfort us and to reveal a mission within our own personal wilderness. We were meant to surrender everything to Him and then look around us. The treasures will no longer be hidden once we look in the right direction, which is outward.
I heard a story about an older man who always remained in church looking at the altar, praying long after services were over. He was asked one day by his pastor, “What are you praying for?” He answered, “I just look at Jesus and He looks at me.”
What a sweet spirit of adoration. Prayer doesn’t always have to be filled with frantic requests. If we look at Jesus, and let Him look at us, He shows us what to look at next, and it’s always going to be something outside of ourselves. That’s the Spirit of Jesus. He went to the cross, looking outside of Himself, and the hidden treasures of His wilderness are each one of us, who abide in Him.
Whatever kind of wilderness we are in, by looking outward, instead of inward, His Spirit is speaking to us about what we can do for others.
Holy Spirit, as we surrender all of our stressors to Jesus, open the eyes of our heart and show us who or what you want us to see, so that we can find the treasures hidden in our own wilderness. Amen