Isaiah 33:6 (ESV)
And he will be the stability of your times,
abundance of
salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure.
It was 1986, in the midst of a three year drought, when
two brothers who lived in a kibbutz near the Sea of Galilee made an incredible
discovery. As these two fishermen monitored their equipment on the lake, they
noticed something glistening in the sun covered in mud. It was a fishing boat.
Upon deeper examination, archaeologists determined that these two brothers had
discovered an ancient boat from the time of Jesus. It's was called the
"Jesus boat" and is now located in a museum next to the Sea of
Galilee.
Hidden under water for centuries, the only reason it was
discovered was that the severe drought had lowered the lake surface so
drastically; so that even when no one was looking for it -- this treasure was
discovered totally unexpectedly.
You may have noticed -- it's becoming more and more
spiritually dry in this world and sometimes I wonder, will anything good ever
come out of this mess? Yet I think the same thing can happen for us as happened
to those two fishermen. When things get low, and dry, and sparse, suddenly when
we least expect it, God can reveal treasure that we couldn't see or know about
because everything was abundantly okay. Maybe it's a friendship that blossoms
because of the pressure or need ... or, maybe just a new and deeper insight
into the Lord's own sufferings; or maybe a new spiritual gift of encouragement
... there are many possibilities, and I think we ought to be looking for them,
though they might appear when we least expect it.
Dear Lord, help us no matter the situation that we look
for the positive things. Help our eyes
be open to the spiritual encouragement that You have for us. In the Name of Jesus,
Amen.
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