This week as I was pondering the way our lives are unfolding…I was wondering if our lives would ever have any real and lasting impact. There are many “shiny” people with large followings and opportunities…but are they living truth? There are many “self-promoting” people who have the appearance of influence…but should anyone really be following them? I don’t know.
All I do know is the longer I’m alive the more I value very different things than the world. I struggle to take advice or influence from anyone who hasn’t gone through desert seasons, or seasons of hiddenness.
When I look at scripture, I see all the ones I love so much, had these seasons. First off, Jesus…He was raised a carpenter’s son in the middle of nowhere. He had 33 years of hiddenness and before His ministry took off, He was led into the desert to be tempted. Then there’s Moses. He was raised in a palace but went into a long season of hiddenness before being God’s mouthpiece…and he faced great trials and tribulations along the way. Abraham. He was sent off from all his family…that’s definitely what I would call a season of hiddenness. A stranger in a strange land. He was facing the fire of a long wait before an unfolding promise. The list could go on and on, but I’ll end it today with David. If ever a man had a season of hiddenness, it was him. Out in the fields worshiping God while tending flocks. Alone for long periods of time. Anointed to be king, but still kept in smallness for many years. Yes, David is another excellent example of the refining process necessary for strong leaders to emerge.
One of the hardest things to do in our current culture, is to wait on God to open our doors. Self-promotion appears to be so popular these days and it seems everyone feels they are an influencer. But few truly are real influencers…most are just copycats.
When I am called out of my season of hiddenness, God is really going to have to make it obvious. I’ve had people pretend to call me forth multiple times, but each one had an ulterior motive…of their own promotion and simply desired to control me.
Here are some good scriptures to remember during the seasons of hiddenness…
If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct. Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them. Don’t be misled- you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:3-9
We are always best served to maintain a servant attitude. Humility is the way, remember?
And, if you are in a season of hiddenness…I encourage you to truly surrender to it. Let the refining work of God do its full work so that when He calls you forward you are able to sustain the work ahead. Develop deeper and stronger roots before you move ahead. Do the unpopular thing, and allow Him to cultivate strong character in you. It’s so worth it. Let Jesus serve as your reminder…
365 Days in the Presence 