Oh the blessedness of obscurity! When you can love your Lover
in secret intimacy, not being disturbed by the glory of man, which has been to
many their downfall. How blessed when you can serve God in quiet faithfulness,
learning to put all your heart and upmost attention into the small details, as
unto the Lord. How blessed you are to be obscure, a nobody in this world,
having died to it, but being of attention and value to Heaven! Obscurity has
been teaching me great delights about the heart of God, like how He would leave
the 99 to go and save just one lost sheep. And how God is looking for our faith
and quality of person in daily living, not just our quota of visible production
for Him. In obscurity, God is refining our
quality of character, our faith, and making us those who can persevere in difficult
times ahead.
It is easy to be close to God and passionate, when things go
our way and serving Him is fast paced and thrilling. But when we descend the mountaintop and are
made to be faithful and tested in the valley of endurance, then our real person
is exposed. Let us not be so caught up in the greater picture or anxiousness
about the future that we miss the precious opportunities now or trample over
lost sheep. In Acts, Philip left his whole church just to reach out to the one Ethiopian
eunuch. In our production driven, fast passed society, this would seem so
inefficient. But God has his eye on the lost sheep, and He would stop the world
to rescue them. "What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and
one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains
and go and search for the one that is straying?” – Matthew 18:12
We cannot judge how to glorify God the most. It is easy to
think that perhaps the great evangelists glorify God the most, because they make
a great numbers of converts. Though I do believe God is greatly glorified by
great evangelists evangelizing, the whole body of Christ is used in making
disciples. We can each glorify God "the most" by simply fulfilling our created potential in Christ, by God's grace. Everyone has a role, whether it is to be obscure, perhaps a faithful housewife and mother, or a
faithful hardworking man, setting up chairs at church and investing in his kids at home. Some people will one day be the pastors or an honest and Godly politician, but must still be obscure for a
season. This is then the blessed chance to be faithful in little things and to
glorify God in daily living and obedience now. Obscurity is a great privilege. When
we learn to delight in God and be content wherever He has us, this is great
gain! “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of
God”- 1 Corinthians 10:31.
Where God has us presently is the most exciting place we can be, because the Most High has ordained our steps and is with us. Let us ask God to open our eyes to His great
goodness and opportunities to live for Him here and now. "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy"- Psalm 126:3
Joseph, Moses, and even Jesus all had times of great obscurity in their lives. Jesus was poor and a carpenter. Joseph was falsely accused and abandoned to prison for over 10 years, forgotten by all. Moses lived on the backside of a desert for 40 years as a nobody, in humility from having fallen from so high a position in Pharaoh’s Court. But God was with them. The desert and obscure times are imperative for God to form Christ-likeness and endurance in us. He is forging us into leaders and servants who can be strong and faithful to lead others through difficulties later on, just like Moses and Joseph. Be a lover of God, and worship Him now with all your heart.
Joseph, Moses, and even Jesus all had times of great obscurity in their lives. Jesus was poor and a carpenter. Joseph was falsely accused and abandoned to prison for over 10 years, forgotten by all. Moses lived on the backside of a desert for 40 years as a nobody, in humility from having fallen from so high a position in Pharaoh’s Court. But God was with them. The desert and obscure times are imperative for God to form Christ-likeness and endurance in us. He is forging us into leaders and servants who can be strong and faithful to lead others through difficulties later on, just like Moses and Joseph. Be a lover of God, and worship Him now with all your heart.
“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me”- Psalm 131:1-2.
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me”- Psalm 131:1-2.
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