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51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.

Where is God? Why doesn’t He show Himself? He has. Through creation, from the smallest atom to the universe there is order, and order speaks to a sane mind of a Creator who created that order. So we are without excuse (see Romans 1:20-22). But God has shown Himself in a more subtle way than through creation. He has shown the strength of His arm through the amazing gospel.

I often tell the story of a club in which I had about 100 kids, at the conclusion of which they lined up for a piece of candy. As I looked at them fighting for position, I noticed that the quiet, smaller and sickly kids had been pushed to the back, and the brats were at the front. So I took great delight in turning the line around and going to the quiet, smaller and sickly kids first, much to the disgust of the brats who were now at the back.

That is precisely what God has done with the gift of everlasting life. The poor heard Jesus gladly. The Gospel is for the lowly and the humble, while those proud and arrogant brats who profess themselves to be wise are more than pushed to the back of the line. They are tossed out of the building. They miss out on the promise of life and instead will reap the fruit of their own conceit. They are scattered in the imagination of their proud hearts, and put down from their imaginary thrones.

How has God done this incredible thing? Simply by using "foolish things to confound the wise." See 1 Corinthians chapters one and two for details. He made the door on salvation so low, only those who humble themselves can enter, and in doing so He filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He sent away empty.

Is your trust in your money? Do you consider yourself wise? Are you a proud person? Then your misguided trust and your conceit will keep you from finding what the Scriptures call "treasure in earthen vessels." Everything that is of value in this life has to be searched out. Gold, silver, diamonds, etc., don’t fall from the sky. You have to dig for them, and just as God has hidden these things in the earth, so He has hidden Himself from humanity, and says, "And you shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). And why should you search for God? Because He is the source of life itself, and without Him you will lose yours. It’s just a matter of time . . . no matter what you believe.