Sometimes the Lord speaks to us in very simple, quiet, personal ways. There’s no grandiose moment or audible voice, but we experience HIM in a way that provides us with a deeper view of our God. Other times, the Lord can abruptly and dramatically gain our attention. However God speaks to us, these experiences are special gifts and a means for the Lord to personally and intimately whisper to our own hearts. A sunset, a conversation, a confrontation, a new insight, even a hurtful occurrence. The Lord can use moments like these to give us a taste of Himself that perhaps provides a deeper understanding or greater joy. And during those times, we decide what we do with that moment. Should we share it with others? Or do we alone savor it, allowing it to be another deposit in the treasury of our heart’s worship of our King?
To Share Or Not To Share
Because we live in an age where we can post anything at the touch of a button, it is easy to allow others into our moments. And this can be a good thing. Others may find encouragement and share in our joy (or sorrows). We can perhaps be a light with the testimonies the Lord gives us. But maybe we can allow these moments to be something else. Something treasured by our hearts alone.
I’ve thought about this as I have encountered my own heart’s tendency to quickly jump into share mode. I admit that I can find it tempting to feel a false need of having to share a moment. And if we are immediately drawn to share a photo or a moment as soon as it happens, we might need to check our motivations. Social media can easily become a pedestal on which we place all of our self interests in order to draw the limelight to ourselves. We can take our moments and parade them as God’s blessings over our lives, while in reality we really just found it “share worthy.” Of course, our intentions are not always self serving. We can certainly hope that what we share edifies others. But before hopping online maybe we should ask ourselves these questions:
Is this something I should or even need to share with others? Can this be something that God meant only for me to treasure in my own heart?
Personal Treasure Boxes
We serve a personal God. He knows each of us by name. He knows our hearts’ motives. He knew our frame before we were even born. And despite all He knows about us, He loves us with an eternal, never ending love. He gives us gifts and takes away gifts because He knows exactly what we need or don’t need. And He works in each of our lives in personal, intimate ways that only He could ordain. In His sovereign rule, He orchestrated the events of every single life on this earth and He did so in a way that would eventually lead to the coming of the Messiah, including who would become the mother of Jesus.
If anyone had moments worth sharing it would have been Mary. Here was the woman through whom God chose to bring the Savior into the world. She experienced every kick, every pregnancy discomfort, every joy, and all of the pain of birthing God incarnate. And when she held her baby boy in her arms she held God Himself.
Yet, despite all she experienced as the mother of Jesus, scripture tells us that Mary didn’t run off sharing every moment. She was quiet and contemplative. After Jesus’ birth the shepherds came and told Mary and Joseph all about the glorious sighting of the angels and the good news the heavenly hosts proclaimed. The shepherds couldn’t keep the moment to themselves and were overjoyed to share it, as they should have been– this was HUGE, life-changing, eternity shifting news. But Mary, who could have shouted from the rooftops or boasted in being chosen to be the mother of Jesus, instead treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart (Luke 2:19).
Later in Luke 2:51, Mary would again treasure another moment with Jesus in her heart as she marveled at His words. She allowed her experiences with God to be a time where she would internally find worth in the gifts God had given her. As she mothered Jesus she stood in awe of God’s grace in her life. She pondered these things in her heart, because in doing so, she was expressing worship and thankfulness. Mary had her own personal treasure box that was filled with moments between her and God alone. How intimate and priceless!
Treasured Moments Should Lead To Worship
We certainly do not physically walk hand in hand with God as Mary did. But God does hold us. He is faithful and never leaves us. And like Mary, He does provide us with moments where we taste His grace with such sweetness that it quickens our hearts to excitement and joy. Sometimes it is something as simple as a walk in nature, showing the creative glory of our Creator. Other times it is a more profound, deeper moment in our lives. His varied grace applies to us all in different ways. But no matter how we experience His love, grace, or kindness, above all we should hope that our first thought is to worship our great God. We should strive to treasure up His goodness in our hearts, storing up times that we alone have experienced with Jesus. Perhaps not everything is meant to be shared with others. Maybe a moment only requires bowing in adoration as we worship and thank the Lord.
After all, being in relationship with Jesus is the greatest treasure anyone could ever obtain. What pleases God most is not how many times we have shared our own personal experiences, but the attitude of our hearts in those moments as we worship our King. And when we personally taste and see Him in even greater ways, our treasure box grows deeper and richer.
Before we click the share button, maybe we should stop to ponder and worship our Lord — and then ask if this moment just needs to stay in the box.
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