Chapter 16
The Treasure Chest
By Ernie Knoll
February 9, 2023
It was on February 9, 2023 that I was given a dream I was told to record but not post.
In my dream, I hear my heavenly name called out to me. I know it is the voice of Perceivous. She says that she is to tell me a story. She asks, “Where would you like to go where you can sit and listen to it?” I tell her to the Appalachian Mountains, and that I would like to have it be in the fall when all the trees have turned color. I say that I would like to dress as if I have been hiking, and I would like to have a comfortable chair to recline in. And while I recline, I would like to be able to enjoy the view down into the valley, and that there be a river that flows. She smiles and says, “I guess you would like a nice cup of hot apple cider, which you can smell but will not be able to drink.” We both laugh, and instantly I am sitting on the hillside of a valley and see autumn-colored leaves falling.
Perceivous sits next to me. She tells me this is the story that I can call “The Treasure Chest.” It is about a man who was given a map and instructions to find a tremendous treasure chest. But there was a drawback. Once he arrived to the place, he would begin his search, and he would need to walk a long way to get it.
He was instructed that for him to receive the treasure chest, he had to first travel a great distance. He would need travel by plane, then by boat, then by bus. He would need to travel a great distance first.
After he arrived to the place he was to start, he was given more instructions. Upon arrival at where he would begin, he was told “This is the area where you must go on foot. It will take you several days to walk, and you must only carry enough water and food for several days.”
He begins walking. He walks a great distance. And then after several days, he comes to this very large flat, but constant uphill terrain that is all grass.
Suddenly, he hears a voice tell him to look to the left and to the right. He looks and there is no one around. There are no buildings. There are only open fields of grass. But it is a constant uphill. He says loudly, “Hello! Is there someone talking to me?”
Suddenly, he hears a voice tell him, “Where you are going to walk now is three days. It will take you that long to arrive where you need to go. From here you can carry no water or food, because it will be too difficult of a task for you to carry.” So, he leaves behind his food and water.
After walking several days, he stops and hears the same voice say, “You have two more days to walk, as this will be five days total you will walk without food or water. From here, you will carry only the shovel that you brought. You are to remove all your clothes and shoes, and you will have no food or water, but what you need will be provided as you walk.”
The man says, “Why do I need to be naked? Hello are you listening?”
The man gets naked and barefoot. He looks all around and sees no one. He begins walking, and he walks and walks. After a long time, he gets thirsty.
Instinctively he looks up and says, “Hey, I’m really thirsty.” Suddenly, there is a little place in the ground where water is shooting up out of the ground.
So he goes over and kneels down and drinks from the water coming up from the ground like a small fountain. He is sitting there looking at the little fountain of water when all of a sudden, the water quits coming up.
He starts walking again. He walks a great distance. He looks up and says, “Hey, I’m really hungry.” Suddenly a tree instantly grows up from the ground. It is about three feet tall, but it has different fruits and nuts on it. So, he sits there and peels it then eats the fruit. He cracks open the nuts and eats them. He is sitting there just enjoying the food. Then he says, “Hey, I could use some water.” Out of the ground comes another small fountain of water. He goes to it, and bends over to drink. Suddenly, the water stops. He looks over at the tree, and the tree withers up and falls onto the ground and is absorbed back into the ground. There is no sign of the tree ever being there.
He gets up to see he still has a long way to walk. He starts walking and walks for three more days. Every day it becomes harder and harder to walk up this very long hill. He looks up and says, “Hey, why do I have to do this? This is so hard! Why did You make this so hard? Why is this such a difficult walk?” Now he keeps walking and going up the now steeper hill.
After walking for a day and a half, he had no water or food. He was now barefoot and naked. All he carried was his folding shovel he had strapped to his back. On the morning of the last day, he hears the voice tell him: “Today in the distance you will see an old tree. Finish your walk to that tree. At that tree you will find that it is all rotted and gone. But you will see two big tree limbs that have fallen in the form of an X. You need to go there. Underneath where the two limbs lay, drag the two limbs away. Using the shovel, dig a hole where the limbs were.”
The man is excited and says, “Ah, a treasure chest! Finally! At last!” He goes over and lays his shovel down. He grabs ahold of the tree limbs and works hard to move them out of the way. They are large and heavy. He is exhausted, as he hasn’t had food and water for over a day.
He sees the spot he is to dig. He takes his shovel and begins to dig down three feet. He finds an old wood chest and struggles to get it. After he finally gets it up out of the hole and on the ground, he opens it up.
Inside is a piece of paper. It tells him that his real treasure is prepared for him in heaven. And it tells him that the greatest treasure is that he walked day after day with his Father–just the two of them. Each day he listened to the instructions he was given and had the faith to do what was necessary to see through daily trials that would stand the test of faith. All he needed was provided each day with food and water. At night he slept on the carpet and with a blanket of grass. All his needs were always provided for. The last sentence on the paper said, “Each day that you walk with God—that is your greatest treasure.”
I look over to Perceivous and I tell her, “What a tremendous story!” She says, “All are looking for earthly treasure. But you will go through a lot, and it will not be easy. If you walk with God, your food and your water will be assured, even though the walk will not be easy.”