This past week I was thinking over the idea of how God chooses to hide his people at various times and in different ways. Though we may often think of hiding as an act of cowardice, the Bible would not agree. In 1 Kings 17 it is astonishing to discover that the powerful prophet Elijah (best known for calling down fire from heaven) was told to go into hiding. God hid him by the brook and fed him by the ravens. It is not that God needs to conceal us, but that He wants to keep us in a quiet place until His time is right.
Looking back to the life of Moses we find that his parents hid him and when they could no longer keep him secret, Pharaoh's daughter found him and kept him safe. John the Baptist (Not known as a shrinking Violet) was kept hidden in the desert until his revealing to Israel. Even Jesus Christ himself was kept hidden in Egypt by his parents for some years until King Herod was dead. So what does all that have to do with our lives? Paul explains to us in his letter to the church at Colossae that as Christians God has also hidden us.
But why does God hide us? Maybe it is because of our internal GPS system. In our old lives we had certain destinations programed into us. We focused our energies and set our goals on earthly targets trying to hit the bull's eye. Even now as Christians we so easily start down the road towards those old places and familiar sights and sounds. Unless we see Jesus' goals we will keep going to wrong way. That is because sometimes God's true goals are hidden.
So in Christ, God reprograms the GPS system of our spirits. The old GPS will not be able to acquire our global position because we are hidden with Christ in God. As we begin the journey now with our new faith vision, God's satellite system (the Bible) points out exactly where we are. God's GPS acquires our location, then begins step by step to call out when to turn, and when to keep going straight. As long as we continue walking in faith, the new system will work perfectly. We can see the old goals are really empty promises and the applause we hoped to get for temporary accomplishments has no satisfaction. As we remain faithful, God gives us His next amazing promise:
Looking back to the life of Moses we find that his parents hid him and when they could no longer keep him secret, Pharaoh's daughter found him and kept him safe. John the Baptist (Not known as a shrinking Violet) was kept hidden in the desert until his revealing to Israel. Even Jesus Christ himself was kept hidden in Egypt by his parents for some years until King Herod was dead. So what does all that have to do with our lives? Paul explains to us in his letter to the church at Colossae that as Christians God has also hidden us.
Col 3:3 For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
But why does God hide us? Maybe it is because of our internal GPS system. In our old lives we had certain destinations programed into us. We focused our energies and set our goals on earthly targets trying to hit the bull's eye. Even now as Christians we so easily start down the road towards those old places and familiar sights and sounds. Unless we see Jesus' goals we will keep going to wrong way. That is because sometimes God's true goals are hidden.
So in Christ, God reprograms the GPS system of our spirits. The old GPS will not be able to acquire our global position because we are hidden with Christ in God. As we begin the journey now with our new faith vision, God's satellite system (the Bible) points out exactly where we are. God's GPS acquires our location, then begins step by step to call out when to turn, and when to keep going straight. As long as we continue walking in faith, the new system will work perfectly. We can see the old goals are really empty promises and the applause we hoped to get for temporary accomplishments has no satisfaction. As we remain faithful, God gives us His next amazing promise:
Col 3:4 When Christ, who is our life appears, then will we also appear with Him in glory!
So maybe now is God's time for you to remain quiet. He has put us in a hiding place for his own purposes and will bring out out in His own time. Elijah remained invisible to King Ahab for 3 1/2 years. John the Baptist remained in the desert till the beginning of his ministry. Jesus himself was unknown to anyone except his mother and Joseph until he was baptized by John. God also has a perfect time and place for each chapter of our lives. There is no braver thing to do than to trust God, allow Him to hide us in Christ, and wait for Him to do what He wants in His perfect time!
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