FINDING JEWELS IN THE DESERT

Today's Prayer
Dear God, So many needs have come before me today. So many people are standing in the need of prayer. Please intervene, heal, comfort, provide, have mercy upon all those who are sick, sick and tired of being sick and tired, unemployed, heartbroken, in bondage to addiction of any kind, tormented by emotional problems or mental illness, lonely, just up out of the pit of sin and walking in the light, in need of courage and strength, grieving, traveling, moving, going through changes, needing direction and wisdom, and so much more. Thank you, God, for your tender mercies, your everlasting love, your everpresence, and for hearing our heart cries. Help me to help others. Help me to remain faithful. Help me to make the right decisions and do the right things. Please help me that I will glorify you. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.

Finding Jewels in the Desert


"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her" (Hosea 2:14).

An ancient Arabian fable tells of three merchants who crossed the desert. In the daytime, they would pitch tents for shelter from the desert sun. When the stars came out, they would ride their camels in the cool of the night. At one point, the merchants crossed a dry riverbed under the stars.

"Halt!" said a voice from the darkness.

All three men jumped down from their camels and huddled in fear. "Who's there?" one of them said.

"Don't be afraid," said the voice in the dark. "I won't harm you if you do as I say. See those pebbles at your feet?"

By the dim starlight, the merchants saw thousands of pebbles in the riverbed. "Each of you pick up a pebble and put it in your pocket."

The three merchants obeyed. Each took a pebble from the riverbed.

"Now leave this place," the voice said, "and don't stop until daybreak."

The merchants mounted up. One said, "What's this all about?"

"I will only say this," the voice replied. "In the morning, you will be happy and sad. Now, go!"

Baffled, the three merchants proceeded on their way. As they traveled, they wondered what the voice meant by saying that they would be both happy and sad. When morning came, the merchants stopped. Each man pulled the single pebble from his own pocket and saw that it sparkled in the morning sunlight. The "pebbles" were precious gems. One man had a ruby, another, an emerald, and the third, a sapphire. "Jewels!" one merchant said, his face shining with joy.

"Oh, no!" wailed the second. "There were thousands of jewels all over the riverbed! Each of us took only one! Why didn't we grab handfuls?" "Look!" shouted the third, pointing behind them. A desert wind had whipped up, erasing their tracks. "We can never find our way back!" The voice in the desert had spoken truly. The merchants were happy and sad. They had found wealth in the desert but they could have taken more!