I’ve been thinking today of one of the treasures I brought home with me from the recent tour of the Holy Land that I lead. It’s a little ceramic tile from this Armenian pottery shop that I visit every time I’m in the Old City in Jerusalem. 

This is what it looks like: 

It’s simple and not very expensive, but incredibly dear to me. You see, this is a verse that I came across when I really needed to know God was with me. I wasn’t looking specifically for this verse and I must have read it before, but I didn’t remember reading it. 

I remember praying for God to show me that He was with me and that He cared (not because I thought that He’d disappeared or stopped caring, but because I NEEDED to feel his presence just then). The next day, this verse came to me. 

And any time I need a reminder of his presence and his love, this is a verse I turn to. 
The thing about God’s word is that it is full of treasures like this verse. And I think God longs for us to discover them. 

So this Lent, may you open up the Bible. May you find the treasures within. May you know that God has called you by name, and you are His.