Are you Hidden?
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This morning the sun rose very quietly. There were thick blankets of pink clouds that covered the blue sky. It looked as if a storm was brewing so the sun could not show its usual display of morning light. It was almost completely hidden but it still rose. Eventually, its light pushed through and still permeated the whole sky. Daybreak still came today, albeit without the grand entrance it’s used to. The sun, although hidden, still accomplished its purpose here on earth.
It made me think about being hidden and I remembered King David hiding in his cave…
How many of us are in a season where we feel hidden from the world? How many of us feel as if we are right where God has placed us and yet it seems all that we do simply fade away in the background?
Sometimes, it is hard to continue pushing forward when it seems as if we are always receding in the shadows. It isn’t always easy to keep pressing in when we go hidden and unnoticed. It’s hard not to wonder if we are doing any good at all…
In 1 Samuel 22:1-3, David was forced to hide even though he had already received a wonderful promise from God. Early on, he had received an amazing prophesy that promised a bright future awaited him. In fact, he had already been anointed king by a prophet sent by God. David knew that in God’s eye, he is king even though Saul still sits on the throne.
After that, using nothing but the stones in his hand and faith in his God, David defeated the mighty Goliath at the battlefield. That victory led to an amazing new job at the King Saul’s courts. David thought he was just doing God’s work; he was exactly where God placed him and he did his work well.
He honoured the king and fought all his battles to victory but the next thing he knew, there were angry arrows of jealousy aimed at him. Turmoil and discord seemed to follow him and eventually, he had to flee and hide. Yet, through all the turbulence, David is the perfect poster child for rest and being entirely submitted to the will of God.
Despite having to flee to the Cave of Adullam, David remained at peace and he was willing to wait for God’s timing. His years in the desert with his father’s sheep, the time spent in Saul’s court, and even his ill-treatment at Saul’s hands had taught him that perfect peace is being in the centre of God’s will. The cave became a place of growth, training and waiting on the Lord.
When you are hidden for a season, it is the time to press in for more of God. We grow the most when God removes all distractions and keeps us hidden, sometimes in seclusion, where we can be shaped, refined and strengthened.
“David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him” (1 Samuel 22:1-2)
David may have been in hiding but even there in the cave, God still used him to lead and command a small troop of men. Remember this: when you feel hidden in the shadows, you are still accomplishing your purpose here on earth – just like the sunrise today that still shone amidst the thick clouds.
You may be in the cave, but just like He did for David, God is still working in, through, and for you, to prepare you for what is ahead. In His time, no different than what He did for David and the sun this morning, He will propel you forward so you can shine in His glory.
In the meantime, rest… God is still very much with you. Hold on to Jesus’ promise in Matthew 28:20 before he departed,
“…surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
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