"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also"

“I will cause all My goodness to pass before you, and I will declare My name, the Eternal One, before you. I will show mercy to whomever I choose to show mercy, and I will demonstrate compassion on whomever I choose to have compassion.” Exodus 33:19

I woke up in the middle of the night a few nights ago and felt God speak that what I was to pray for His church for this season most of all was, “that they would treasure Me.”

Nehemiah 4:9 says, “Is it not good to walk and live our lives in fear of the awesomeness of our True God?”

David deeply treasured God. In Psalm 27:4, he proclaimed that his soul's desire was “to live with Him all my days– in the shadow of His temple, To behold His beauty and ponder His ways in the company of His people.”

In Psalm 25:12 David sings, Only those who stand in awe of the Eternal will have intimacy with Him, and He will reveal His covenant to Him.”

To treasure something something is to count it as precious, rare and of great worth. To see the value and esteem it. As the pearl of great price, one realizes that in it lies their future and destiny and is willing to forgo things of lesser value to gain it.

Jesus says in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Often my littlest does best when he is provided choices.. God always gives us choices. In the garden, Adam and Eve had the choice of what tree they would eat from. Jesus allows us to choose what we will treasure... Him or something of the world. What we treasure will be where our heart follows.

What do we treasure? If it is really Him, we will lay down all other pursuits that get in the way. Randy Alcorn in “The Treasure Principle” challenges, “Why not spend the rest of our lives closing the gap between what we'll wish we would have given and what we really are giving?”[1]

Sometimes I tell God that I want to give Him more and that He is my treasure, only to become offended and hold back from giving my all to Him... I say in my heart, “I didn't know you wanted that.” Then I put my heart into it half-heartedly or bypass the opportunity to give to Him sacrificially all together in offense. In this case, what I really am treasuring is having my way and me being comfortable. Ever been there?

In the time of Moses and in the time of now, God was and is looking for those who genuinely treasure Him and are willing to give all. These are the ones that God called out to the forefront.

David was chosen above his brothers because of he was a “man after God's own heart.” The same with Bezalel and Oholiab who were chosen craftsman to lead the construction work on the temple. While God blessed them with the gifts, He chose them for their heart to give all.... they had a heart that moved them to do the work. They wanted to give what they had to God. The other people as well – they were moved to bring their contributions to the congregation tent until they had more than enough and had to be told to stop.

Sometimes I can think it is about the amount that I have to give.  I see someone who has great ability to give and wish I could do the same.   But it is not about the value, but what we treasure and sacrifice.   It was the woman who gave two mites Jesus noticed because she gave all that she had to live on.  While others gave significant amounts, He know they were giving out of their abundance and esteemed their gift less.

Lord, Like Moses, let us never cease to behold your goodness and mercy.  We long to have a heart that genuinely treasures You.  Let us behold You, love You more deeply and give you our all.    Forgive me for times that I have held back because what you asked from me was not what I wanted or expected. 

1.  Alcorn, Randy.  The Treasure Principle.  Multnomah Publishers, Inc. Sisters, OR.  2001