Treasure Hunting in Times of Drought

I ran across the story below in my reading this morning. I found it interesting and the spiritual message insightful. Our land is under drought conditions. It is struggling under spiritual drought as well as the drought from lack of rain. You need only listen to the talk around you in any given location. I have made a practice of observing people around me. I watch their actions and body language. I listen to their words and tones. You don’t need a Farmer’s Almanac to tell you how serious the drought, spiritual and/or environmental, in our land.

Isaiah 33:6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His 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 fisherman 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 Yeshua (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 fisherman. 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.
 
I believe it is imperative that maintaining a ‘Jesus mentality’ is the only thing that will help us see the treasures in times of drought. When our mind is set on Him, our thoughts and emotions are filtered through the knowledge that He is in control regardless of circumstances around us. We are then free to take our eyes and minds off the obvious conditions around us and see the treasures glistening in the mud. The choice is ours – roll about in the mud with everyone else or expect to find treasures waiting to be discovered. It’s all in the mentality we choose to take.