Hidden Treasures

"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.  We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.  Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies."  2 Corinthians 4:8-10

So it's after midnight.  I should really be sleeping.  My body tells me to.  But my mind just isn't having it tonight.  So I get up and Father leads me to actually a different verse in 2 Corinthians 4 than the first verse I just posted...verses16-18....
"That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." 

You know, I don't know about you, but I kinda like the whole "mountain top" spiritual times.  The times when we are winning battle after battle.  When Dad is speaking constantly and we are learning, growing, being changed from the inside out.  When we see Him moving in our lives, through our lives.  I really, really like those times in my life.  Alot.  It's those crazy valleys that just get me everytime.

You know the valleys, those times when all hell seems to break lose against you.  When the enemy of your soul unleashes an all out attack on everything about you...your health, your strength, your witness, your life, your heart, your everything.  When he is on a mission to destroy you.  Period.  THOSE kind of valleys.

So I start reading all of this about not giving up.  About how what we are going through now is temporary.  Did you catch that?  TEMPORARY.  That means, according to Websters, "lasting for a LIMITED time."    Limited means "confined with limits; restricted."  Are you getting this?  It means, what we are going through now is not ALWAYS.  It's temporary.  It's like a limited edition...only here for a short period of time.  Now, I know, short period of time can seem like forever when you're in the midst of it.  But in the scope of eternity, it's short.  Trust me on this.

I love how those verses just ooze hope within them.  I love how we find things "unseen" in our valleys.  In our darkest moments really.  It's what I like to call hidden treasures.  Those things that we can only find in the dark times of our lives.  It's in the darkest times of our lives that we find out what faith in Him truly is.  It's in dark times that we find out how good He is, even when life doesn't always agree.  It's in dark times that we learn the value of pressing through, seeking His face and finding His heart.  For THAT, my friend, is the greatest treasure of all.  When we find His heart through the dark valleys, we have found our pearl of great price.  And sometimes those great pearls come at the expense of our comforts.  They come when we are the weakest.  But they DO come...when we are seeking Him through it.

Verses 8-10 give me even greater hope.  Battles may get intense.  They always do.  There's always blood shed in war.  There are casualties.  There are injuries and wounds inflicted from enemy fire.  There are times when the soldiers grow weak and tired and weary.  There are times when daylight never shines because the enemy fire is intense and keeps the sun hidden by all the artillery being unleashed, by all the smoke from the fire.  BUT, here's where we find hope....we may be pressed in on every side by enemy fire...but we aren't crushed.  We may be filled with uncertainty and facing difficulties in our lives by what we are going through, but it does not have to drive us to despair.  We may be hunted down day and night by our enemy...but we are NEVER abandoned by our great and mighty Warrior...Father God.   We may get knocked down...ALOT...but it does not destroy us.  We get back up.  Why?  Because greater is He Who lives in us, than our enemy who lives in the world.

Bottom line...HE is stronger.  He is able.  And He fights for us.  He is our great Defender. 

I write all of this tonight with a heart that is screaming...."fill me with THIS hope in the midst of battle".  To stand on the battleground and lean on, rely on the fact that never once will He ever leave us in the battle.  He gives us the weapons to use to fight our enemy, and then He gives us the strength and wisdom to fight according to His ways, not ours.  Oh, and one more thing...He will Always come through.

I'll leave you with this thought tonight.  It's an old song that my heart is singing as I write this....

   "Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
     Look full in His wonderful face;
     And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
     In the light of His glory and grace."

Search for your hidden treasures friend.  They are treasures waiting to be found that are hidden in Him.  And to find them, you must seek Him to find HIM. 

Happy hunting....
~Stacy