“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.” (Matthew 6:19)
One of the great blessings of being a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is the gift of “divine disencumberment,” where God supernaturally shifts our focus away from earthly treasure to heavenly treasure. The same grace God showed in raising us from death to life is the same grace He displays in raising us above seeking after treasure on earth, “where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19).
Is divine disencumberment one of the marks of your life today? Before we were saved, by grace through faith, we sought after the stuff of this life. In our worldly-mindedness, we looked to satisfy the desires of the flesh through the attainment of any of “the Five P’s”—Power, Position, Prestige, Prosperity, and Pleasure. And make no mistake, the more we engaged in hot pursuit of any of these things, the more we became encumbered by the flesh and temporal satisfaction. The more we pursue the stuff of this life, the less we pursue our beloved Savior, and the result of this worldly pursuit is that we multiply the cares of this life.
The true disciple of Christ says NO to worldliness and YES to the Word. It’s not a matter of eliminating pursuit; it’s a matter of pursuing the right things. You see, our problem is not desire; our problem is desiring the wrong things. Our hearts should beat after “all things above,” pursuing the life God has called us to live. Throughout life, the disciple of Christ is being conformed into the image of our Lord Jesus. The more we are conformed into His image, the less we are encumbered with the stuff of this life.
Divine disencumberment is a grace that grows in the heart that beats for nothing smaller than Jesus. The true disciple is one who seeks first the kingdom of heaven because he or she knows that everything else will follow. God has promised to meet all our needs in the glorious riches of His precious Son, our beloved Savior. We need only to “keep the main thing the main thing,” inviting Jesus to take His rightful place in our lives: on the throne of our hearts. Divine disencumberment free’s us from a life filled with empty pursuits and fills us with the promise that “The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it” (Proverbs 10:22).
What treasures have you been storing up for yourself lately? What does the confession of your life say to those who know you best? Remember, we are all hunting some kind of treasure. The key is to hunt after the treasures that are holy; when you do, divine disencumberment will follow you wherever you go.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 