The Blessing of Hiddeness

Colossians 3:1-3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

All of the things the Lord has lead me to lately are touching on the blessing of hiddeness. The freedom to be obscure. This is not easy for us, as we see in our society and experience in our own lives that people are admired for their accomplishments. We wrongly equate admiration with love, thinking that if we are celebrated we are loved, and we tend to find our security in the praise of men.

This is the way of the flesh. The "old way" that when we come to Jesus, we die to. Represented by Baptism...out with the old in with the new. We become a new creation. Our needs are all met in Him, therefore we don't need the things we used to use to gain our security. Unfortunately we don't just jump out of old habits once we have been born again. The Lord now begins to walk us through the process of making us more like Jesus. The refining process, the process of purifying us and making us holy. This is a gradual process, as we spend time with Him in His Presence and in His Word and in fellowship with other believers, we progressively are transformed.

It stands to reason that the more secure we are the less attention we need. Hiddeness comes from our security in our place in Jesus' heart. Our belief in how much He loves us. In our transformation, not only do we have the "old" to deal with, we have an enemy that is always positioned against our progress in the faith. He wants to get us in doubt and unbelief, because it is there that the truth is darkened and we are vulnerable to falling back into old habits. Darkening the reality of the absolute agape' love of God for us causes us to stumble backwards.

It is love that makes us secure. It is love that we are all looking for. The blessing of hiddeness comes from the absolute knowledge that Jesus loves us and we are eternally secure. Christ Jesus loves us perfectly (as the Cross represents if we really look at it for any length of time we cannot deny the reality of His perfect love) It seems so simple stated here, but living the reality of it is progressive and daily.

Philippians 2:5-8 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross!

Jesus stooped down to our level to lift us up. He came down to serve us and to point us to the Father. He was here to do the will of God and bring Him glory. That is the will of God for us as well, as he is making us Christlike. That we magnify Him with all that we are.

As we grow in our security in Him, our need for attention from people diminishes and we delight to exalt and magnify him. We decrease, He increases. We are then blessed in hiddeness. What amazing freedom there is in doing something and giving the glory to God. He is the source of all of our gifts and abilities anyway! He relieves my anxiety to perform. As I grow in awareness that He is doing His thing through me, I am freed from any responsibility except for keeping my eyes on Him and obeying Him. I am free from fear of man, or fear of failure, or fear of rejection.

Lord, please help me to bear in mind the reality of your love, help me walk in the assurance of your life and power living in me by the Holy Spirit that you gave me at my new birth. Help me, like David, to conquor giants with faith. Like Daniel, to continue to be faithful to you no matter what. Help me to magnify your name in all I do and say. In Jesus name.

Quote: "Fear is the darkroom where Satan develops your negatives" by Francis Frangipane