{"id":6577,"date":"2015-06-08T00:39:47","date_gmt":"2015-06-08T00:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6577"},"modified":"2015-06-08T00:49:31","modified_gmt":"2015-06-08T00:49:31","slug":"hidden-treasures-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6577","title":{"rendered":"Hidden treasures"},"content":{"rendered":"

…attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God\u2019s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, <\/em>in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.<\/em> Colossians 2:2b-3<\/span><\/p>\n

Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior!<\/em> Isaiah 45:15<\/p>\n

For many of us, one of the most frustrating aspects of God is the fact that He often hides Himself. A dear family member of mine\u00a0who\u00a0would love\u00a0to believe in\u00a0God struggles with the reality of\u00a0Him\u2014and His Son Jesus\u2014for that very reason: She hasn\u2019t yet \u201cfelt\u201d Him.<\/p>\n

It has been my experience that God approaches each of us in varying ways according to His wisdom\u2014and His ways have never proven to be our <\/em>chosen ways (see Isaiah 55:8). But no matter what<\/em> methods He uses to draw each individual to Himself, each one of us who comes to Him enters through the same Door\u2014Jesus Christ (see John 10:7).<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve entered through the Door, a new heart is formed in you and a new life awaits you. And yet, although all things in you have been made new (see 2 Corinthians 5:17) and you now have the mind of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:16), a lifelong adventure of \u201chide and seek\u201d lies before you. You see, you have embraced Jesus, the Mystery of the ages, and within Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge<\/em> (see Colossians 2:3).<\/p>\n

Just as pursuit is an integral component of a healthy romantic relationship, so, too, is seeking a key part of the relationship between God and you. Jesus<\/em> came to seek and to save the lost (see Luke 19:10); likewise, He is honored when you<\/em> seek Him<\/em> with all of your heart\u2014so much so that He assures you that you will find Him (see Jeremiah 29:13). If He seems slow in answering, persist. How many men have wooed reluctant lovers only to win them over by their raw determination? And if you\u2014like my precious family member\u2014are experiencing the \u201chiddenness\u201d of God, realize that your persistence in the search honors <\/em>Him who is yet unfelt by you\u2014and as a result, blessing and intimacy with Him\u00a0are piling up to your account, ready to tip the scale and pour out upon you. At some point in your search, you will\u00a0detect the tiniest mustard seed of faith within you where you never noticed it before; when you\u00a0sense it, plant it in Him by asking Him into your life and the Door will open to you. And then? Joy unspeakable and full of glory will capture your heart (see 1 Peter 1:8).<\/p>\n

And just as pursuit is an integral component of a healthy, maturing relationship, so, too, is seeking a key part of the continuing <\/em>relationship between God and you. After all, in Him\u2014Jesus Christ, the Lover of your soul\u2014is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.<\/em> It will take a lifetime\u2014and then on into eternity\u2014to explore and enjoy all that belongs to you in your relationship with Him. Daily He <\/em>bears your burdens (see Psalm 68:19); daily you <\/em>are invited to enter into new discoveries of the vastness of His unsearchable wisdom and knowledge (see Romans 11:33).<\/p>\n

Contrary to some of the griping I\u2019ve heard about how boring “God stuff” is, I have found unlimited treasure in Him\u2014and I know that I\u2019ve barely scratched the surface.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the deal. If you learned that you owned the deed to a large unmined vein of gold or a vast untapped reservoir of oil, would you be bored<\/em> with that information? Would you lament<\/em> how much time and effort you would have to expend\u00a0to search out\u00a0ways\u00a0to access all that wealth?<\/p>\n

Spiritual treasure is no different. In fact, that which God has hidden for you in Christ is not only treasure to be embraced now in this<\/em> life; it extends into all eternity<\/em>. Nothing\u2014whether silver or gold or oil or all the money\u00a0in a billion treasuries\u2014could compare to even a portion<\/em> of\u00a0the vast expanse of all that is hidden in Christ.<\/p>\n

Wherever you are in your pursuit of Him, be encouraged. He is the Lover of your soul and He is the limitless Treasure worth seeking out.<\/p>\n

Dorothy<\/p>\n

\u2026God\u2019s mystery\u2026Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.<\/em> Colossians 2:2a-3<\/p>\n

\u2026the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations\u2026which is Christ in you, the hope of glory<\/em>. Colossians 1:26a, 27b<\/p>\n

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.<\/em> Matthew 13:44<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God\u2019s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:2b-3 Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior! Isaiah 45:15 For many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[166,167],"class_list":["post-6577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-god-who-hides","tag-in-christ","tag-in-whom-are-hidden-all-the-treasures"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6577"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6579,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6577\/revisions\/6579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}