We Are God’s Treasure
by Dan Held
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)
Ever heard the expression, “God’s got this!” in relation to your own prayer request?
As a pastor I’ve said it plenty of times to people asking for prayer, only to find that quite often they scarcely feel reassured. Faith that “God’s got this” when it comes to the results of their cancer test tomorrow, next week or even next month may seem like a bridge too far. What I meant to say is that no matter what happens, God is going to be with them through it and will provide for all their needs. To them, saying that God’s got this cancer is like promising He will prevent or eliminate it, and that is too much. As a pastor, I’m then asked to pray God will forgive their “lack of faith,” about which they now feel (inappropriately) guilty.
That is why I’ve stopped telling cancer patients or caregivers that God’s got this. Instead, I now say, “I don’t know if God’s got this or not, but I know for sure that God’s got you.”
Today’s verse features Christ’s parable of the man who found a hidden treasure in a field and then went and sold everything in order to buy the field where it was hidden. One way we can understand it is like this: the man in this story represents God, the treasure represents us, and the field represents the world. Jesus Christ is the price, the “all God has,” used to pay for us wherever we may be hiding in this world God so loves. You may treasure your own health or that of your loved one enough to pay any amount to buy it, but God treasures you and your eternal soul even more. You will not perish but have eternal life, because God has sent his only begotten Son to pay the price for you! (John 3:16) And now, “God’s got you!” Jesus, our good Shepherd, said of you, His sheep, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). There is no safer place to be than in the hands of your precious Savior, who loved you enough to pay everything He had to bring you into His fold.
Pray: Dear Jesus, you valued me enough to give up your own earthly life for me to be with you forever. Help me to examine my own values today. Remind me that I am bigger than my cancer, and that you treasure me so much that you paid it all on the cross to have me for your own. Give me an awareness of your Kingdom treasures today and help me lay aside everything to follow you, just as you gave everything for me. Amen.
Your Turn: How will your life be better today by just knowing that God’s got you?
Dan is a cancer caregiver who lives with his wife (Sue) of 55 years in Dayton, Ohio, where Sue has been free from breast cancer and colon cancer for two years! Dan is an ordained pastor and a licensed therapist with a heart for families touched by cancer at any stage. He is dedicated to promoting the message of more love and less fear in all aspects of his ministry and life. Check out his blog at www.danielkheld.com.