Hidden Treasures - Final

Deliverance for God's People

"Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. "Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.… Isaiah 43:18, 19

I understand the trying of men’s hearts, the depths of despair, of discouragement, and of desperation. I understand the depth of forsaking, for first I had to forsake My Father to go to earth, and then I had to forsake those that I loved so dearly on earth to return to My Father.

I understand the depth of pain and affliction, for I screamed out in pain as the nails pierced My hands and My feet. I understand the feeling of being forsaken by those that loved Me, even My own Father, and thus I cried out, “My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?”2

I understand the depth of fear—fear of facing that which is ahead for the pain and the sorrow that it shall bring. And so I said, “Father, let this cup pass from Me.”3

I understand the depth of the feeling of loss, for those who loved Me most forsook Me as I was carried away into captivity. I know the depth of hurt to see one that you love betray you, even as Judas betrayed Me with a kiss.

Am I not a high priest that is touched with the feeling of your infirmity?4 My heart breaks to see you in your pain and in your struggle, and in the fire of testing, of trying, of purging—when you feel so hopeless, so lost, so forsaken, when you try to hold on with all your might and yet you feel as if there is nothing to hold on to anymore.

Though My Father did not let this cup pass from Me, and though I saw My loved ones flee from My side in time of trouble and this one that I loved betray Me, and though the nails pierced My hands and pierced My feet, and though I was beaten with many stripes, and though I felt as if My Father had forsaken Me, and though I had to pass through death—yet it all brought about such great victory, renewal, and salvation!

For though it looked like a defeat for Me to be whipped and to be scourged, to be crowned with thorns, to be nailed to the cross, and even as I cried out, “My God! My God! Why hast Thou forsaken Me?” My Father kept Me and brought Me forth in a great resurrection that changed the course of history and that changed all eternity.

Though all looks dark and you cannot see, know that I have My arms around you. I ask you to trust Me in the depths, trust Me in the despair, trust Me in your heartache, trust Me in your forsaking. For I do all things well, and I work in your life in love. If you are willing to drink of this cup, if you are willing to say, “Not my will, but Thine be done,” you will also experience My presence in ways that will far surpass anything you have known!

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Before the foundation of the world]

You are My beloved child. I chose you before the foundation of the world, to walk with Me along paths designed uniquely for you. Concentrate on staying in step with Me instead of trying to anticipate My plans for you. If you trust that My plans are to prosper you and not to harm you, you can relax and enjoy the present moment.

Your hope and your future are rooted in heaven, where eternal ecstasy awaits you. Nothing can rob you of your inheritance of unimaginable riches and well-being. Sometimes I grant you glimpses of your glorious future, to encourage you and spur you on. But your main focus should be staying close to Me. I set the pace in keeping with your needs and My purposes.6

Originally published in 1997, unless otherwise indicated. Adapted and republished March 2014. Read by Simon Peterson. Music by Daniel Sozzi.

3 Matthew 26:39.

4 Hebrews 4:15.

5 Matthew 26:39.

6 Sarah Young, Jesus Calling (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010).