Once in a while you get a glimpse of God’s supernatural shining through your ordinary, but those glimpses seem few and far between while you run to the grocery store, vacuum the living room, or check school backpacks.
Last week a dream came true as my family and I visited one of the largest collections of art treasures in the world. Walking through room after room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, we witnessed treasure after treasure: works by Rafael, Rembrandt, and Renoir, miniature ivory carvings, and jeweled Faberge eggs. Yet this mind-boggling collection of artistic treasure is hidden away inside a ho-hum, nondescript building. Looking at its plain exterior, you’d never guess what’s on the inside.
We’re not much different from that ordinary building. Life looks mundane on Monday morning when you throw a load of laundry into the machine on your way out the door to drop the kids at school. We don’t look like much: regular people who get tired, mess up, and sometimes throw in the towel, but as believers in Christ, we carry an astounding treasure inside of us.
Paul likens us to ordinary clay pots. Not much to look at on the outside, we carry God’s life-giving power inside of us. Through the Holy Spirit, we have a direct line to the Father, and his supernatural empowers our ordinary.
We look like fragile clay jars, but an amazing treasure is ours in Christ:
The Holy Spirit living inside of us
His incomparably great power towards us who believe
His great and precious promises
Unconditional love that never runs out
Joy in the midst of trial
Peace that reigns in our hearts as we choose to trust God
Hope overflowing by the power of the Holy Spirit
Everything we need to live the life He’s calling us to
How do we tap into all this treasure?
Somehow the treasure inside us gets buried when that car cuts in front of us in line at the gas station. But we can tap into it the minute we call on Jesus. We tap into love, joy, and peace when we walk with Jesus and stay close to Him. We tap into the power of the Holy Spirit when we decide in faith to believe what His Word says and set our hearts on obeying Him. When we set our hearts on our Savior, our treasure becomes real.
May your eyes be opened to all the treasure that’s yours in Christ today, friend. You have everything you need. You can rest secure in the knowledge that God will give you grace and strength for today. In Christ, you have everything you need to live the life He’s calling you to. Jesus is just a call away.
What’s on your plate today, friend? And how can the Holy Spirit inside of you make a difference?
Reading this post gave me such a feeling of calm and peace, Betsy. What’s on my plate today? Well, too much to go into in these comments! But it starts with the city’s sewer lines backing up into my house for the sixth time in three weeks. I was pretty easy-going about it the first couple of times I had to clean and sanitize everything, but it’s getting difficult to stay even-tempered at this point! Thank you for reminding me that Jesus is close beside me and All Is Well.
Oh my, Deborah. You do need Jesus nearby, all around, and inside you. I hope things get taken care of.
I’m so glad you wrote this post reminding me that Jesus is close beside me. Reading it filled me with calm and peace. What’s on my plate today? Way too much to list here! Today is filled with difficulties and hurdles, as well as too many tasks. But with Jesus close beside me, All Is Well. Thanks, Betsy.
Blessings on your day (and on the weekend!) I hope you can walk through everything on your plate one step at a time. With Jesus.
Boy, it’s the truth that those treasures get buried under the pile of life clutter! Thanks, Betsy, for this wonderful reminder of God’s amazing Presence here with us and the bounty of blessings we have in Him!
Thanks, Sabra. Your comment is a great reminder to me to swallow my own medicine today! 🙂 Fun to connect with you on facebook!
Thank you for this. I’ve never been to the Metropolitan Museum but have heard it’s incredible. You give me reason to try and get there one day! With scorching temperatures and a nasty headache and sinus cold going on today, I felt very weak trying to grocery shop with my little boys. But the Holy Spirit showed up. We prayed in the car asking God to help us be kind to one another in the store. And even when my littlest spilled a large cup of mango lassi all over the floor and his brother, the Holy Spirit was there, bringing calm and giving me kind words. This is new for me and I’m seeing growth, so I praise him.
Bless your heart, Betsy! I love the way you called on the Holy Spirit at the grocery store. Grocery shopping with littles means we need the Holy Spirit to fill us for sure. My kids are older now, but do you know what? Clothing shopping is now my challenge. Everytime I shop with them for shoes or clothes, I just pray and ask for guidance. (so many differences of opinion on appropriate style, price tag, etc… 🙂 )