Treasures in the Sand

"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her" - Hosea 2:14

In preparing for my teaching this week I came upon some things. One of them was this story. There is an ancient Arabian fable that tells of three merchants who crossed the great desert. In the daytime, they would pitch tents for shelter from the desert sun. When the stars came out, they would ride their camels in the cool of the night. At one point, the merchants crossed a dry riverbed under the stars.

"Halt!" said a voice from the darkness.

All three men jumped down from their camels and huddled together in fear. Finally, "Who's there?" one of them said.

"Don't be afraid," said the voice in the dark. "I won't harm you if you do as I say. See those pebbles at your feet?"

By the dim starlight, the merchants saw thousands of pebbles in the riverbed. "Each of you pick up a pebble and put it in your pocket."

The three merchants obeyed. Each took a pebble from the riverbed.
"Now leave this place," the voice said, "and don't stop until daybreak."

The merchants mounted up. One said, "What's this all about?"

"I will only say this," the voice replied. "In the morning, you will be happy and sad. Now, go!"

Baffled, the three merchants proceeded on their way. As they traveled, they wondered what the voice meant by saying that they would be both happy and sad. When morning came, the merchants stopped. Each man pulled the single pebble from his own pocket and saw that it sparkled in the morning sunlight.

The "pebbles" were precious gems. One man had a ruby, another, an emerald, and the third, a sapphire.

"Jewels!" one merchant said, his face shining with joy.

"Oh, no!" wailed the second. "There were thousands of jewels all over the riverbed! Each of us took only one! Why didn't we grab handfuls?" "Look!" shouted the third, pointing behind them. A desert wind had whipped up, erasing their tracks. "We can never find our way back!" The voice in the desert had spoken truly. The merchants were happy and sad. They had found wealth in the desert but they could have taken more!

Often, in places of adversity comes our greatest treasures and yet often it isn’t until we are out of the place of confusion, concern, hurt, anguish, spiritual dryness or emotional upheaval do we see the beauty that was there.

Often we spend so much time chafing against the perceived enemy that we do not realize all that was there to be had should we have just listened to the one who knows our every step.

As you go through this next week, ask God to make you sensitive to what He is beautifying your life with day in and day out so that the gems in your pockets are bountiful! I remain…

InHISgrip,
~J~