Embrace the Hidden Seasons

 

Do you ever feel hidden?

Maybe as a mother and wife, caring for little ones, you feel hidden? Maybe you feel swamped by laundry, meal prep, homeschooling, endless cleaning and child raising challenges.

Maybe you feel hidden in your ministry and in your serving. You feel hidden by limitations of a season that feels like a lot of closed doors instead of big opportunities to do ‘great’ things.

Can I tell you that just because you may be in a season of hiddenness, does not mean you are forgotten by God.

Honestly, I don’t think anyone really enjoys being hidden, do they? Most of us don’t volunteer to be small, obscure, or unknown.

We all would like to use our giftings for the benefit of much more than our current circle, which in some cases, may be just our little families.

In my days of early motherhood, I often felt hidden. I stayed home with the girls, schooling them, teaching them, keeping house, keeping order and keeping them alive!

There were days when I felt that there must be more that I could do. There must be more that I could contribute as a growing Christian. Surely, there was more to life than the invisible, never-ending to-do lists.

I wanted to teach other women and encourage them in their child training efforts. I wanted to teach them how to be the wife God had called them to be. Oh, how naïve I was, thinking that, firstly, I had enough experience and knowledge to even begin to share what I knew, but secondly, how sad to think that what I was doing at the time, at that particular season, was not working for eternal good and was not worthwhile.

It wasn’t fame I was after. It was IMPACT. I wanted to matter. I wanted my days to count for something. Something more than the mundane tasks that I seemed to be buried under day after day.

And in my current season of life, I long to be a shining light to others, sharing the love of God, teaching them God’s truths through what I write and my speaking opportunities. And yet, my reach is small and seemingly insignificant.

We live in a world where influence and success are often measured by how many followers we have, or how many downloads or likes we receive.

We deceive ourselves into thinking that because we are not noticed in public spaces, we mustn’t be contributing, and our giftings are wasted.

But what if our seasons of hiddenness, those hidden years, the seasons when we feel unnoticed, and limited and fruitless, where doors seem to shut more than open, where we feel forgotten, our talents wasted or invisible, what if these years proved to have more purpose and meaning than we imagined?

What if we could embrace our hidden years?

What if we welcomed hiddenness as much as we pursue visibility?

What if we could see our hidden years as a time for growth and learning and a time for deepening our relationship with the Lord?

Visibility is not the only road that leads to impact.

Throughout scripture, we see God regularly use obscurity and hidden years as a tool for his purposes.

Let me show you a few examples.

Take David for instance. He spent a great part of his life hiding in caves. He was promised the throne and yet he was forced to spend years on the run, far removed from his promised place of prominence.

Or what about the Samaritan woman who Jesus met at the well (John 4). She was isolated and hidden because of shame. Her sin forced her to draw water from the well in the heat of the day in order to remain in obscurity.

Or Hannah. A woman who was hidden because of barrenness, making her feel ashamed and worthless.

And then take Jesus himself. Of his thirty-three years walking on this earth, only three of them were in public ministry. No crowds. No public platform. No popularity. As far as we know, he was a simple carpenter’s son, hidden from the world until God’s appointed time.

So, did God use these hidden years in these people’s lives? Yes! He did!

David’s years in hiding were fruitful as God used the circumstances he went through to bring us many Psalms of worship, lament and surrender, that we read and learn from to this day.

The woman at the well went from hidden to evangelist. (John 4:29, 30, 39). Many came to believe on Christ because of her testimony.

Hannah turned her heart to God and the Lord rewarded her with a promised child who became Samuel, the great prophet.

And then Jesus himself. He prepared for his years of ministry by serving, working, contributing to his community, living an ordinary life so that he could empathize and understand what we go through. (Hebrews 4:15)

It’s hard to see our impact or influence when we are in the middle of seemingly purposeless hiddenness, but often when we are on the other side of our hidden years, we see God’s hand. The years we thought were fruitless turn out to be anything but.

Now, in case you are in the hidden seasons, and you are longing for more visibility, let me remind you that not always does God do what we hope he will do. Not always does he choose to turn our seasons into the life we dreamed of. But don’t let that discourage you. The truth is, God often uses obscurity as much as he uses visibility.

God chose to turn Paul’s visibility into obscurity by seeing him placed in jail many times. Isolated. Alone. In chains. But from that jail cell, he loved and shepherded and guided many a believer in the form of his letters to them. God used his hiddenness for his glory.

John was exiled to the island of Patmos and here he received from God what became the book of Revelation. God’s story of ultimate victory over death, his rule and reign and his eternal plan for all of eternity. Here John sat in obscurity and God used him mightily.

I’m sure Paul and John had no idea of the impact they would have on generations to come. They stayed faithful to God, trusting him and obeying him and God brought a harvest of bountiful fruit.

So, are you, am I, prepared to stay hidden or welcome hiddenness if that is our reality?

Did you know God can raise up leaders who will influence others without a public stage, or huge social media platforms? Because it’s not about that, it’s about Christ living in us that sets us apart. It’s about our lives being hidden in Christ. (Colossians 3:3)

There is a place for both obscurity and visibility. It is in how we steward our day-to-day lives.

Young mother, how are you using the gifts God has given you to speak life over your children? How are you showing them the love of God? How are you teaching them of his goodness, of what he did on the cross for them? Who do they see when they look at you? Are they seeing someone made in the image of God and someone who is being transformed and made more like him?

Are you worshipping in private through prayer and study of God’s Word or do you only worship in public? Are you investing in soul care, not just in care of your physical body? Are you cultivating the hidden places of your life?

Maybe you’re not a mother, but a single woman, faithfully serving behind the scenes in your local church. You feel unnoticed and unappreciated. You wonder if what you’re doing has any impact at all.

Those years where we feel hidden and unnoticed and worthless, our mission field comes to us. As we homeschool our children, as we train them in righteousness, as we show hospitality to others, as we sit with those who are hurting. At our kitchen tables, at our local coffee shops, in our living rooms where the mission field pulls up a seat.

We have influence that we don’t even realise in the hidden place of our home. God gives us opportunities to interact with people in our everyday life as we model courage, as we choose joy and as we apply God’s Word to our messy lives.

Don’t waste those hidden years.

Chose to look at things from God’s perspective.

We need to view hiddenness and visibility the way God does – as equally fruitful. In God’s capable hands, he is able to bring fruit and accomplish his will through both the visible and the invisible.

We have to embrace the hidden years in our lives. And we have to be content if God chooses to keep us hidden.

God is at work whether we labour with applause and praise or without. Our stories are all different and we will all face hiddenness at some time in our lives, but God can choose to work in these seemingly unfruitful times.

Is the posture of our hearts one of surrender to his will? Are we surrendered to the places and seasons of our lives and whatever it is God has called us to? Whether visible or invisible.

Hidden does not mean forgotten.

God has not forgotten you. He wants your heart more than he wants your dreams to come true.

If you are struggling today with your hiddenness, as I often do, cultivate contentment and a heart of gratitude and resolve to wholeheartedly embrace the opportunities God gives you, looking at every mundane task as a mission from God. A chance to grow. A chance to love. A chance to be a light.

Run toward the hiddenness, serving with love in your heart for God and for his kingdom. What you do with your time on earth matters. Big or small. Make it count.

Develop a deeper relationship with God. Study the Word. Seek him. Obey him. Love him.

Our hiddenness is for his glory.

 

1 Corinthians 10:31 

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

 

 

A prayer for when you feel invisible

 

In a world that’s clamouring to be seen,

To be known, and to be loved by all,

There is no end of ways I can make myself

Bigger, louder, or more recognizable.

Lord, I confess it feels appealing to be

More acknowledged, more appreciated, more wanted.

But you, God, created me for yourself,

For me to know you and be known by you,

To be a bearer of your image.

Not for platforms or stages, applause, or praises.

I was made in secret,

But you formed me and know me intimately.

While the world looks to appearances, achievements,

And accolades,

You look at the heart.

My efforts may be overlooked by others,

But you are El-Roi, the God who sees me.

The real me.

The messy me.

The me I don’t always like.

You tell me I am seen, known, and loved by you.

To hide beneath the shelter of your wings

Is not obscurity but security.

Hidden doesn’t mean forgotten,

because you are the God who knows all and sees everything.

“Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.”

Amen.

Ruth Chou Simons