Store your treasure’s in Heaven

A few weeks ago, I misplaced my bracelet. I forbid my lips from saying “lost” again, as I am hoping I can find it. LOL.

This bracelet was a gift, and although it’s a material item, I loved and wore it almost daily. I have searched high and low for it, and in some moments, I prayed, “Lord, what happened to the bracelet?” I am usually really good about keeping up with stuff, but over the last few months, it seems as though I’ve just been losing random items. When life is moving fast, and you have a million thoughts and responsibilities in your daily tasks, it’s easy to get so distracted that you forget what you usually remember to do. When you pride yourself on being responsible and keeping watch over what has been entrusted to you, this deep sense of failure comes over you when you incur losses.

In a parable, Jesus taught in Luke 15 that if a woman lost a coin, wouldn’t she be willing to search her home diligently until she found it? Though she had nine left, she was willing to search for it, and once she found it, she called her friends and rejoiced for the one. This is imagery of how Christ comes after us when we are lost and how heaven rejoices when someone drowning in sin and sorrow finds new life in Christ.. Now, I am not comparing my lost bracelet to a soul, but the purpose is- God cares for the lost and their salvation, and He also cares for the losses in our lives. God watches over all.

Over the last few months, I have learned that you must search your heart to see where your treasure is. You are bound to be disappointed if it is in some material item. If it is in a relationship or another fleeting thing, you will be let down at some point. If it is in your career or followers, what happens when uncertainty or shifts change your trajectory?

All of what we can tangibly see and touch is fading, but not the hope we have in an eternal and consistent God, Jesus Christ. If you have been praying for a lost loved one, keep praying and seeking God for their salvation. If you have lost your sense of self or have entangled your identity in something other than Christ, untangle yourself from the lies and live in light of God’s Word. If you have lost your sense of worth because of betrayal, ask God to restore your mind. If you have lost your peace, reclaim it. If you lost a material item of sentimental value, trust God. It’s all we can do.

I encourage you to take inventory of your treasures. Satan’s goal is to get our focus on this life and how we can maintain it, while Jesus is pointing our attention upward towards heaven. Only what we do for Christ will last. My bracelet is missing, but not my sanity. Something may be missing in your life, but don’t let it steal your joy. Trust that God has a plan even when we misplace/lose items that had sentimental value.

Be encouraged.

“for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”

Luke 15:24 KJV