The past few weeks, even months, have been a roller coaster ride for me. From figuring out what God has planned for my life and trying to let Him work, to school and family trouble, to dealing with friends, youth group, and writing, I've been through a series of ups and downs. There are days when I feel too weak and too down that I can't even move on.
Plus the drama I have put myself through because of these random emotions and feelings I have—it just gets me down. Have you ever felt like that? Like you're in a bottomless pit of despair?
So what was the cause? I can tell you so many things that I have done which would lead anyone to believe that I deserve this "punishment" that God has been putting me through. Then I began to read about people in the Bible who did wrong by disobeying God and were severely punished for things that they did.
But since the ground didn't swallow me up and a fiery hailstorm didn't come upon me, I thought I was in the green. Maybe I was okay because I didn't do anything so bad to make God mad. Then I began to think that these things that I was going through was just HIM testing my faith.
Well, I was half right. He might have been (and still is) testing my faith, but I got the whole concept of who was wrong, well, wrong.
Like any other person who doesn't understand the Bible very much, I just took the words that I read at face value. I was skimming off the top of the shallowest meanings.
Have you seen that series on the Discovery Channel called Gold Rush? The main goal of the miners in the show is to reach the very bottom and hit bedrock. Why is that? Because that is where all the GOLD is. That is what is VALUABLE to them, because the best stuff is at the bottom, and you have to make an effort to get there.
The Bible is more than just a book with words and stories; it's a gold mine. The deeper you go, the more you begin to find the hidden treasures in it that God has intended us to discover. There is always value in trying to unearth what God has intended for us to understand. Those are the treasures that will really help when your life feels like it's fallen into a pit. They shine like golden gems when we most feel like we're in the dark.
It's true that reading the Bible is sometimes tough the first few times around. But like when you find something on the beach in the sand, or you are looking for gold in the ground, you don't just see it and say, "Oh, there's something there" and not go after it. No, you would actually want to dig for it. We should treat the Bible like a gold mine because there are hidden treasures hurried within.
—Sparky
Sparky was a 16-year-old attending a private high school when he wrote this. A childhood injury limits his abilities, but God has used it to focus him onto His will. Sparky is a writer/poet and novelist. He's also a technology expert and loves to get into God's Word. Through many pains, addictions, and depression, God has saved him. He's thankful to be His servant forever.
