“And that’s where the mysterious beauty of hiddenness comes in. We who live most of our days in and around the people of this world don’t naturally hide ourselves in God. . . . We respond instead to the looks and applause and the direction of others around us. Thus, He hides us. And masterfully.”- Sara Hagerty
Sara Hagerty concludes Chapter 1 of Unseen as she discusses the mysterious beauty of hiddenness. Sara observes that God sometimes hides us in:
- obscure circumstances – God removes us from an up-front role to discover the beauty of falling in love with Him when no one’s looking or applauding
- hardship or suffering – we wonder if life will ever mend
- plain sight – we learn to find God in the midst of a life that keeps going full tilt
Although we may lump all our hidden experiences together and label them unproductive, we need to see them as paramount days. Hence, these important days provide hours in which we choose to hid ourselves in God. Sara explains:
“No moment is too small, too insignificant to hide in God and waste time with Him. Behind circumstances and callings and misjudgments and scorn from even the dearest of friends, He hides us. We may feel veiled and unnoticed, but God is training us to turn our eyes toward Him, to find Him there. . . . God doesn’t banish us to this hidden place. He invites us. And finding God in the secret can teach a heart to sing.”
In conclusion, Sara notes that God gives us rich, yet often buried, opportunities in our own moments of hiddenness. Therefore, we need to learn how to lean in, there, with expectation. And to continually go deep.
Today’s question: What have you discovered about the mysterious beauty of hiddenness? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The drive to significance – the creative impulse of God”