Where Your Treasure Is

“The man who has God for his treasure has all things in one.” A.W. Tozer

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

Although I have been a Christian since childhood, Jesus Christ hasn’t always been my treasure. He was simply the one who died for my sins: my Savior. He most certainly wasn’t my Lord, my Counselor, my Faithful Father, or my cherished Friend. Jesus didn’t have my heart or my worship.

I rarely opened my Bible and prayer was like a foreign language to me. I was immature, selfish, and focused on my wants and desires. I had absolutely no desire to spend time in God’s Word. The temporary, lesser “treasures” of this world had captured my heart and my worship.

But God loved me too much to leave me in that place. His desire was to change my heart and make His Word and His presence my treasure. He began to reveal to me that being a Christian devoid of His Word and prayer was like trying to run a marathon without water and food or drive a car on a long-distance road trip with limited fuel. It just doesn’t work. And quite honestly it wasn’t working for me. I began to notice other Christians who were filled with the Holy Spirit and cherished God’s Word. There was something different about them, and I found myself attracted to their spiritual maturity and biblical literacy. I began to pray for God to give me a desire to read His Word and to grow me in prayer. I prayed for a heart change and a treasure change. And that’s a prayer God delights in answering!

As God grew in me a love for His Word, my favorite routine quickly became reading my Bible and spending time in prayer first thing in the morning. It truly makes such a difference in my day, in my obedience, and in my responses. I have experienced so much fruit in making God’s Word and prayer a daily priority. I am more patient, more kind, more loving, more joyful, more repentant, more humble, and filled with unexplainable peace. My husband, Andrew, and I have four children ranging in ages from seven to thirteen. Reading God’s Word, memorizing Scripture, and praying together as a family have become rhythms that bring such life to our home. I have witnessed spiritual growth in each of us individually, and I have tasted and seen the goodness of God in strengthening and unifying us as a family unit through coming together regularly to meditate on His Word.

A Bible-reading, Christ-treasuring believer is a threat to the enemy. And he tries everything he can to keep us out of God’s Word and presence. Busyness, selfishness, distractions, and difficult circumstances have all fought for my precious time in God’s Word. It literally is a daily fight to focus on what is truly most important. Abraham Lincoln said, “Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.” I have to continually listen to the Holy Spirit and reflect on what my true treasure is and should be. What is of most importance is my relationship with Jesus Christ, spending time in His Word, abiding in His presence, and allowing myself to be transformed by renewing my mind daily with the power and help of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord has been so faithful to show me what a treasure His Word is in my life. It is my daily bread, and it feeds my soul. It transforms me and changes me. It strengthens and encourages me. It enables and equips me to do what He calls me to. It is my sword and my defense against the enemy and his lies. It teaches me how to be a godly wife and mother, and it shows me how to be more like Jesus. It helps me walk through each day in a way that glorifies God. It convicts me, guides me, and gives me wisdom and counsel for every struggle. It prepares me for spiritual battles. It helps me to take captive negative thoughts and fix my mind on what is pure, true, right, and good. It comforts me in suffering and grief. It gives me peace in turmoil. It heals my heart when it’s broken. It silences fear and anxiety. It restores my weary soul. And the Holy Spirit brings it to my remembrance when I need it most.

The biggest game changer for me was praying for the desire and motivation to make reading my Bible a priority and to truly treasure it. If you are in a place where you find yourself wanting to be in God’s Word more regularly, ask God to give you a hunger for His Word and for it to become your daily bread. Ask God to reveal more of Himself to you as you read His Word. Ask God to help you fall more in love with Him through this daily practice, and to truly make Him and His Word your treasure. Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also!