“I have put some priceless things deep inside you.”

A thought by Ray Johnston (2014-05-13) from his book, The Hope Quotient: Measure It. Raise It. You'll Never Be the Same. (p.97). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Did you know that about you?  Or do you feel you are worthless? 

Ray tells this story, “Back in 1915, Ira Yates owned a dry-goods store in Rankin, Texas, that did about five thousand dollars’ worth of business each month. A Pecos County rancher named Thomas Hickox noted the store’s modest success and proposed that Yates trade the store for his 16,640-acre River Ranch, way out in northern Pecos County.

“A friend who once owned the property warned Yates against the trade. He said, ‘Even buffalo know better than to cross the Pecos. A crow would not fly over it, and it is not worth the taxes.’

“Yates made the trade anyway. Years later, Yates’s granddaughter explained that while her grandpa ‘didn’t know beans about groceries,’ he did know ranching, and he wanted to get his hands on this large parcel of land.

“For a very long decade, Ira and his wife, Ann, made a hardscrabble living off the desolate ranch. Desperate for a way to pay mounting debts, Ira approached the Transcontinental Oil Company in San Angelo about drilling some test wells on his property. Experts had declared no oil could be found west of the Pecos River, but on the off chance of finding something, the company drilled four wells.

“On October 28, 1926, Yates became an instant millionaire. One of the wells produced a gusher that sent crude oil hundreds of feet into the air, just like in the movies. The first five wells together produced more than nine thousand barrels of crude a day, more than could be stored or moved. Oil production peaked in 1929 when the Yates Oil Field shipped out forty-one million barrels. The ‘worthless’ ranch produced its one billionth barrel in 1985. Today, oil continues to flow from the Yates Oil Field, one of the largest reserves in the world.”

Ray then says, “For more than a decade, Ira and Ann Yates labored to scratch out a meager existence, constantly worried about how to pay their bills— all because they had no idea what lay just under their feet. God says in essence, ‘I created you. I have put some priceless things deep inside you. Take the time to discover them and get them out, and they will make all the difference to your future, to those around you, to the world.’”

He goes on to say, “Until you look, you’re usually not even aware that the gifts are there. The apostle Paul wrote, ‘Now about spiritual gifts, I don’t want you to be unaware’ (1 Corinthians 12: 1, author’s paraphrase). Once you are aware of it, he added, ‘Do not neglect your gift’ (1 Timothy 4: 14).”

God doesn’t make junk.  Sin and living for yourself can really mess your life up.  But the good news is that when you give your life to Him and you ask Him to forgive you of those sins He then forgives you and places a spiritual gift inside of you that you don’t want to neglect.  He said, “I have put priceless things deep inside you.”

So, would you let Him have your life and take the time to discover the priceless things He’s placed deep inside of you?