10Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold;11For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.
Nothing can compare with the wisdom of Almighty God, and another passage in Proverbs encourages us to seek to know God and His ways as we would search for hidden treasures. God has so much in store for each of us, and while, as the Father of good gifts, He will bless us materially, His ultimate aim is for us to know Him and grow spiritually. We are encouraged to search diligently for the presence and wisdom of Almighty God, to come to appreciate and apply His Word, which is of greater value than the treasures of the earth. How we need to know His ways in these challenging times!
In Proverbs 2, we see a wonderful passage of Scripture that encourages us to seek for the things of God as if we were searching for precious jewels, and indeed, God's Word is a treasure for us:
1My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you,2So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;3Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding,4If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;5Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.
Tana Clymer is a 14-year-old from Oklahoma who went on a rather unique excavation journey recently - to the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. You see, there are diamonds in this volcanic crater and if you find one, you can keep it. Other semi-precious stones and minerals, including amethysts, garnets and quartz, are also there for the finding.
According to a report on ABCNews.com, Tana had been digging and sifting through dirt in the 37-acre park for about two hours when something caught her eye.
"I thought it was a piece of paper or foil from a candy wrapper," Tana said, according to the Arkansas State Parks website.
It was a jellybean-size, teardrop-shaped, yellow stone.
"Then, when I touched it, I thought it was a marble," she said. "I think God pointed me to it. I was about to sprint to join my family, and God told me to slow down and look. Then I found the diamond."
Tana said she said a prayer of thanks and named her diamond the God's Jewel diamond.
Park experts evaluated the diamond and told her it was a 3.85-carat canary diamond.
Assistant park superintendent Bill Henderson said in a statement: "What an experience for Tana to remember the rest of her life...Tana told me that she was so excited she couldn't sleep last night. She's either going to keep the diamond for a ring, or if it's worth a lot, she'll want that for college." Tana's is the 396th diamond found so far this year in the park. More than 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed at the site since 1906.
How interesting - free diamonds in Arkansas! All you have to do is pay the $7 admission fee, and there may be some supplies necessary, and you're in business. That's not one of those vacation destinations you think about, is it? But, if you find one, it's definitely worth the effort.
It's gratifying that a young girl gave glory to God for her discovery. And, this can be an inspiration for each of us. If we believe that God is involved in every area of our lives, then we can certainly give Him glory for material blessings. Tana, in fact, believes that the Holy Spirit was guiding her to this great discovery - we can be inspired to attribute the operation of God to the blessings in our lives. Realizing that He is the creator and the owner of the world and everything in it helps us to have the right focus about the material possessions we acquire.
The story of this discovery also serves to remind us that God has placed certain treasures on this earth for us to enjoy. He is the Father of all good gifts and diamonds are certainly a gift of our benevolent Creator.
Tana is a young girl who conducted a search, and God wants us to search for treasures of His truth. She received word of a potential discovery, she and her parents went to the right place, and she searched diligently and encountered the treasure. So, it is with God and His Word - we know that His ways are best for us, and we need to intentionally go to His Word, with the expectation that we will hear from Him. His Spirit is there to guide us and meet us as we seek Him out, and we can encounter the treasures that result from discovering more about Him - we find keys to spiritual growth, to abundant life, to knowing Him.
A diamond is a precious jewel, one of the hardest materials on earth, and His absolute truth is like a diamond, penetrating our hearts - the Bible even says in Jeremiah that the sin of God's people is written with a pen of iron and a point of a diamond. His ways are sure, His Word is settled, and His truth can convict and correct our hearts - the work of His Spirit in conviction can serve to not only remind us of the weight of our sinfulness, but when His truth convicts us, we can turn to Him to help us repent of our sin and reverse the direction of our lives.
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