From Obscurity to Visibility |
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Consider how often in Scripture we see faithful men and women who were seemingly hidden from their full potential yet not forgotten by God. Remember David, who was promised the throne of Israel yet forced to run for years from his adversary, King Saul, hiding in caves and removed from the position and prominence he was promised? Or what about the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well in John 4? She was so isolated and hidden from her community that she drew water during the heat of the day when no one else would choose to go. We read about a woman named Hannah in 1 Samuel. Longing for a son, she was hidden because of years of barrenness, which culturally would have left her feeling ashamed and worthless. Or what about Jesus Himself? God's own Son spent all but three of His thirty-three years of life in obscurity, hidden from public ministry. There were no crowds following Him around. No public platform and no popularity. As far as we know from Scripture, - Jesus was a carpenter's son, faithful to His family and community, hidden from the world until God's appointed time.
Were the hidden years for these men and women used by God? Did they play a significant role in God's plan? Yes! David's hidden years proved extremely fruitful as God used those circumstances to bring about the many psalms of worship, lament, and surrender that serve us, the church, today. God used David's hidden years to prepare an imperfect man for an earthly throne — a throne that would one day usher in a forever King. |
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| Oh, Lord, teach us to embrace incremental growth and maturation |
Oh, Lord, teach us to embrace incremental growth and maturation |
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The woman at the well? Her hiddenness ultimately ushered her into a place of surrender to and worship of Jesus, her Savior. She went from hiding from the townspeople to becoming an evangelist in her community: Many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony. — John 4:39 And Hannah's season of hiddenness — obscurity in a culture where a woman's worth was determined by her ability to bear children — turned her heart to the Lord with diligent and desperate prayers. Hannah sought comfort in God when she suffered shame in her barrenness. In time, God gave Hannah a son — who would become the first prophet — named Samuel. His name literally means "heard by God," and his arrival meant Hannah was hidden no more. And how were Jesus' thirty years of obscurity purposeful? He studied, worked, and laughed with friends. He prepared for ministry, served His family, contributed to His community, and experienced adolescence. He cared for people and knew what it was to feel hungry. Jesus lived an ordinary life on purpose. As one pastor noted: That [God] would send His own Son to live and mature and labor in relative obscurity for some three decades, before "going public" and gaining recognition as an influential teacher, has something to say to us about the dignity of ordinary human life and labor — and the sanctity of incremental growth and maturation.1 Oh, Lord, teach us to embrace incremental growth and maturation. When we are on the other side of our hidden years, we can often see God's purposes. The seasons we, in our limited understanding, had deemed fruitless often turn out to be anything but. So many victorious stories of impact, influence, and leadership in God's Word were born out of long periods of seemingly purposeless hiddenness. It's just so hard for us to see the possibility or potential on the other side when we're in the middle of it. - David Mathis, "How God Became a Man: What Jesus Did for Thirty Years," Desiring God, December 8, 2016, https://www.desiringgod .org/articles/how-god-became-a-man.
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Excerpted with permission from Now and Not Yet by Ruth Chou Simons, copyright Ruth Chou Simons. * |
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Are you in a hidden season? Does it feel like this period is pointless and can't possibly contribute to God's good plan? Think again! God is using this time to shape and hone you. He's planting the seeds of a good future for you and those around you. You might not see the purpose now, and maybe not until you get to Heaven, but God is always good and so is His plan. Wait and see! ~ Devotionals Daily |
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Flip the script on hard seasons |
Now and Not Yet: Pressing in When You're Waiting, Wanting, and Restless for More |
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+ $5 off $25 & free gift with code TY5 |
+ $5 off $25 & free gift with code TY5 |
Bestselling author Ruth Chou Simons guides readers who are restless in their current circumstances on a journey of growth, purpose, and pressing in. Too often, we feel disappointed with our "right now"--our life circumstances, our relationships, our progress, our daily grind. We want to do so many things--good, godly things--but our situations don't allow us to step into them. Are we missing out on our own lives? Why does right now seem so far from where we really long to be? Your right now matters. And you can choose to press in and not check out. To know God is at work even when you don't see the progress you're looking for. To start where you are in this very moment. Because he's not through with you yet. |
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Bestselling author Ruth Chou Simons reminds us that it's okay to not like the right now we've been given, but we don't have to like it to lean in. In Now and Not Yet, Ruth shows us how to.. . - embrace the biblical truth that someday is made up of thousands of right nows;
- discern how the difficult parts of our lives are actually a unique gift by discovering five ways to flip the script on a hard season;
- stop feeling trapped when we are not where we want to be with guided liturgies for what we are facing today; and
- live faithfully in the tension between what is and what is not yet.
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This book is for those of us who are waiting, wanting, and restless for more. And my prayer is that we stop hiding behind simple platitudes and quick fixes to our unwanted right nows and bravely step into the ways God wants to change us . . . instead of staying busy trying to change our circumstances. Friend, your someday begins today. So start where you are right now . . . because this moment matters. |
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+ Save 30% on the study materials! | |
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Now and Not Yet Bible Study Guide plus Streaming Video |
| Now and Not Yet Video Study |
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Shop the When Striving Cease Collection |
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James: What You Do Matters Online Bible Study |
James: What You Do Matters Online Bible Study |
"If there's one book that has taught me that what I do matters, it's the book of James." - Margaret Feinberg You're invited to the James: What You Do Matters Online Bible Study! Join us for a FREE Online Bible Study through Margaret Feinberg's newest Bible Study "James: What You Do Matters" and uncover the deep riches of one of the Bible's greatest calls to godly living. |
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