A Season in Hiding

Life consists of cycles and seasons, winter, summer, autumn, and spring, so will it be as you walk with God. God has a greater plan and a purpose for our lives; therefore, we should seek to understand what God is doing in every season and the lessons for that season. Let me assure you that God will be with you in all seasons of life. As I share some lessons I learned in a season of hiding, I hope you will be encouraged to persevere as he leads and guides you along the path he has for you.

Submit

Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time (1 Peter 5:6)

This is the word the Lord gave me when I left my job, sensing that it was time to move on. I had no plan and I just obeyed. It did not make any sense to me at that stage, but what God did was to make sure that I became uncomfortable where I was. This would make it difficult for me to go back to it. This was the beginning of a journey with Him.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24).

God also surrounded me with people on the same journey as me, people who have obeyed him not knowing where they were going. This means that you have a dream or a call on your life, but your circumstances do not look like the dream. You do not know how God will bring it to pass.

Be Thankful

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

How can we manage to give thanks in all circumstances? Because it is God’s will. As a child of God, it pleases me to do the will of God. It is choosing not to complain but rather thanking God for what we already have. There is power in giving thanks. It is a powerful weapon against the schemes of the devil. The devil wants us to complain and have an attitude of entitlement to things we want.

The best version of you is the grateful version of you. The entitled version is the worst version of you (Touré Roberts).

In this season, I learnt to give thanks in all circumstances. I expected at the end of each month, God would send me a cheque equivalent to my salary through whoever he chooses to use. This was not God’s plan. He gave me daily provisions, like the manna He gave to the children of Israel daily. I began to trust him after choosing to be thankful. The attitude of gratitude broke all the fear of lack that I had.

Focus and Persevere

Brothers and sisters choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6: 3-4)

There will be so many distractions that come along your path as you walk with God. They are not necessarily bad things. In this case, the responsibility of the disciples of Jesus was charity work of feeding the widows, however not delegating the duties would cause them to stop the main responsibility they had. I have had to learn to focus on that main thing for me now, which is staying in the secret place where God wanted me to be. Whilst I am there, it does not mean, I neglect my family. In fact, I now have more time with my girls since I am at home all the time. My older daughter too is currently working from home.

Cry out to God

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, Remember, LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you (2 Kings 20:2-5).

Hezekiah earnestly cried to God. He took the matter to God and He heard his cry and saw his tears. Hannah also poured her heart out to God. In the secret place, I learned how to cry out to God and to pour out my heart. To say how exactly I feel and let him bring me comfort and healing. God has the final say, he can change his mind on an issue on your behalf. Sometimes, he gives us the grace to allow us to put our house in order. We see that here with Hezekiah, he was healed, and fifteen years were added to his life. He was also delivered from his enemies the Assyrians.