“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45-46)
Do you feel as if there is a constant void in your soul? Are you jumping from one thing to the next, trying to find something to satisfy? If so, there is so much to learn from the merchant in Matthew 13. He had the same struggle. He was searching and searching for something to fill him. He had found many pearls, but nothing did the trick until he found the Pearl of great value. Your search, just like the merchant, will never end until it ends with the most valuable Pearl.
Your soul was not meant to treasure pearls of small value. This is exactly why they ultimately do not do the trick. We think our financial status will change our empty feeling. However, when we reach the next level, we feel the same as we did before. Wealth is a pearl of little value. Worldly gains do nothing for the longing soul. They may stroke our egos, but they are like shovels that deepen the pits in our hearts. Only one pearl will do the trick. Only one pearl satisfies. Only one pearl ends our search. We need the Pearl of greatest value. Namely, God.
My favorite part of this text is when the merchant sells everything to have the pearl. Here is what you need to know: God is infinitely more valuable than the sum of everything else in your life. When the merchant found the pearl (God) he went and sold everything to have more of God. Oh, I pray for that moment to happen to someone reading this! The pearl was so valuable to the man that he decided that he needed nothing else. He no longer needed to dig for pearls of little value because he finally had all that he needed.
What would you say is the most valuable pearl in your life? What would be the hardest thing for you to part with? Think about that pearl for a moment. Is that pearl worth giving up everything for? If you had nothing else, would that pearl be enough? Does it satisfy your soul or does it still leave you with a void? If your answer is anything outside of God, Himself, then it is not the most valuable Pearl. You are still searching and digging if God is not your Pearl of great value. It is like clinging to a broken bucket of water when, instead, there is an endless Fountain of living water that always satisfies and never runs dry.
So I would like to challenge you today. If you are feeling any level of emptiness, then I challenge you to pray to the most valuable Pearl. If you are feeling unsatisfied, I challenge you to ask the most valuable Pearl to change that reality. Ask God to reveal Himself to you in a way that causes you to sell everything else. I can promise you that if God becomes everything to you, you will all of the sudden need nothing else, and that will not be a sad day for you. You will never miss the pearls of little value when you find the most valuable Pearl! All “treasure” looks like garbage when compared to the greatest Treasure. Pray for this reality today!
“For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” (Psalm 107:9)
We all feel a longing in our soul. We all feel a hunger deep within us. God satisfies that longing. God fills that hunger. Period. God is the only Pearl that satisfies! God is the only Treasure worth giving up everything for! Do not continue looking for value in a pile of empty pearls. Only one pearl will end your search. Stop clinging to the bucket and cling to the Fountain of living water! God is the most valuable Pearl. He is what your soul is looking for. He is all that your soul needs.