Hidden Treasure
There’s this state park in Arkansas famous for hidden diamonds. It’s literally a large, plowed-up field of dirt… yes, dirt… where you can go and dig all day long with great expectation of coming across diamonds, both big and small. To many diggers’ surprise, they have found real and valuable diamonds.
I wouldn’t say these diamonds are easy to find, though. Diamond diggers come from hours and hours away and pay money to dig for hours upon hours in hopes of finding some sort of diamond in the middle of this field of heaped-up brown dirt. It may be hard to believe that anyone could find a diamond in all that dirt. But they dig and dig, anyway, because they’ve been told there are diamonds in that field, and other people have found diamonds in that field, so they are convinced there are diamonds in that field…despite what they see on the surface.
These diamond diggers exemplify a Biblical principle (found in Prov. 2), whether they know it or not. This principle is a prerequisite to experiencing anything of true quality and value. Found all throughout the Bible, it reveals the mysterious yet discoverable nature of God: Seek and you will find (Matthew 7:8).
If you seek [wisdom] as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:4-5, NKJV) (Emphasis mine)
It says, “IF you seek” “THEN you will understand, THEN you will find.” It doesn’t just “come” to us. If we aren’t understanding some things, if we aren’t finding some things, then we can know for certain we aren’t seeking some things.
Throughout my life, both naturally and in studying the Bible, I have found that the truly precious things are hidden and never left exposed for the everyday eye. They’re not left out in the open to be flaunted or disgraced. Quite oppositely, they are rare. These precious things are concealed and kept secret for only certain ones—for those who are willing to seek after them; for those who truly count the precious things as special and holy. If they were not to be searched and sought for, would they even be considered precious?
…that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:2-3, NKJV)
Here, Colossians says that even within Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Why are they hidden? Is it because He doesn’t want us finding and experiencing them? Not at all… He is not hiding them “from” us—He is hiding them “for” us. If they were out in the open for everyone to see, they wouldn’t be precious anymore. These things need to remain precious, so they are hidden for those who will value them, and away from those who won’t. Those who value and esteem them are the ones privileged to share in His treasures.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:44-46, NKJV)
This principle is not just for Jesus and His treasures. What if I were to tell you that there are precious gems and jewels… hidden… within your spouse? I’m not saying he/she represents a pile of dirt, but the dirt field in Arkansas doesn’t reveal its rare stones to onlookers and passersby, either. Unless the visitors were told there were diamonds buried there, they would have never given that dirt field any time of day. I’m telling you today, there are diamonds hidden within your spouse, waiting for you to dig up!
The reason so many have not discovered and uncovered the valuable things in their spouse is that they have not been willing to see past the surface. Valuable things come at a cost—they must be sought after. We are encouraged that whatever we value enough to search for, or dig for, is the very thing we will find—it is the very thing we are sure to experience.
Is the precious wisdom of God for everyone? Yes, but according to Proverbs 2, everyone doesn’t experience it. It is given to those who treasure it. Once in a time of meditation, the Lord spoke the spirit of these words to my heart, “You don’t get the precious things if you don’t count the precious things as precious.”
Jesus said don’t cast your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). What does that parable mean? To explain, swine (pigs) will never value pearls—they don’t know the difference between pearls or rocks. People who don’t value precious things do not get precious things. Showing value, esteem, and honor is the “shovel” to dig up these precious things. Who gets to experience the precious treasures of a husband’s heart? Of a wife’s heart? The spouse who values them. Who gets to experience the gifts and anointings from the man of God in her life? The wife who values them. Let us be husbands and wives who value and esteem the good things in our spouses. This Biblical principle works the same way with our children, too!
There are things in our spouses—gems, jewels, and treasures—that maybe you and others have never seen before. Quite possibly our spouses don’t even know is there, but God sees them—He put them there. Will you see them? Will you look past the surface and choose to see the good? It IS there. Speaking from a wife’s perspective, as my husband’s helper, it is my privilege and honor to search for these special things within him. I am to search for them, to dig them up, and to nurture them so they can shine for all to see. That is my honor as his wife.
Sadly, there is a flip side to this. Many spouses are experiencing “the bad side” of their husband or wife, because, could it be, they have dug up the bad? You get what you are looking for. If you are looking for the negative, that’s what you’ll get.
A froward [unwise] man diggeth up evil (Prov. 16:27, KJV21)
A man of crooked heart does not discover good… (Prov. 17:20, ESV)
He that hath a wayward heart findeth no good… (Prov. 17:20, ASV)
A good heart sees the good. If your heart is good towards your spouse, you will see the good in them. We must make it a point to notice the good, to pay attention to and draw out the good, to see the good, to hear the good—to highlight it. It’s a respecting and honoring of one another, a valuing and esteeming of one another, which “sets the stage” for good to come forth. I’m thinking of the Proverbs 31 woman right now. Her husband’s honor of being “known in the gates” is directly connected to her honor for him!
Are we willing to recognize and “hunt” for these buried treasures hidden within our husbands? And even in some whose treasures seem deeper than others, are we willing to “dig” for them? So many times, spouses are missing out on special things because they are lightly esteeming one another and what each other has to say or share.
Make it your quest as a spouse to see past the mountains of dirt in your marriage and husband and dig up those buried and hidden gems that are guaranteed to be there. One only gives time, effort, and strength to seek after what is really, truly precious to them. Whether the gem is there is not the question. It’s definitely there. The question is whether it is valued enough to be sought after like hidden treasure and uncovered to shine. Wisdom has eyes to see past the surface, beyond the “dirt,” to the treasure hidden beneath.
I encourage you to pray today, according to Proverbs 20:5 (below in a few different translations), and ask the Lord to cause you to become full of understanding so you can draw out the wonderful things that are deep within your spouse and find these valuable treasures inside of them.
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out. (NKJV)
People’s thoughts [advice; purpose] can be like a deep well [waters], but someone with understanding can find the wisdom there [draw it out]. (EXB)
The plan in a man’s heart is like water in a deep well, but a man of understanding gets it out. (NLV)
We love and pray for you!
Matt and Jess