March 23rd, 2022

Have you ever felt like you’re in a wilderness? Maybe you feel hidden away, and if someone would only see your potential, you could finally fulfill your purpose. Pastor Kent Christmas preached a life-changing message on Sunday and shared with us that sometimes God hides us to protect us, develop us, or hold us until He is ready to reveal us for His glory. In Romans 8:18-22, Paul tells us that our current sufferings will pale in comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us!

God speaks about hiding us and protecting us throughout Scripture (Psalm 32:7, Psalm 27:5, Psalm 91). In the book of Exodus, the children of Israel were enslaved in bondage by Pharoah and desperately cried out to God for a deliverer. Because Satan knew God was preparing a man to bring freedom to God’s people, Pharoah issued orders to kill all newborn Hebrew boys. But Moses’s mother saw that God’s favor was upon Moses, and she hid him to protect him from the evil laws emplaced to kill him. In God’s divine providence, He had Pharoah raise up a deliverer in his own house, never knowing that his little grandson, Moses, would defeat Pharoah and the powers of darkness to bring freedom to an entire nation. God’s ways are not our ways, and although we can’t always understand what He is doing, He strategically places us within the enemy’s camp to bring victory to God’s people!

As a young man, Moses fled from Pharoah in fear after Moses killed another man, but God led Moses until the wilderness, not only for his protection but also for his development. In the wilderness, God showed Moses he would deliver the Israelites from Pharoah, yet Moses remained for forty years in the process. Sometimes when God hides you, it’s because He is adding to your arsenal. The Lord will create gifts in you that you’ve never had and increase your anointing. Moses ran from Pharoah in fear, but he returned with a new spirit of authority when God uncovered him. Our Pastor so beautifully reminded us that “God does His best work in you when He has you hidden.”
​
Isaiah 49:2 says, “And He has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand, He has hidden me, and made me a polished shaft; in His quiver He has hidden me.” Although we may endure years of God shaping us and feel ready to be used for His purpose, we still find ourselves hidden in His quiver. Arrows are always made before the battle because there isn’t time for arrows to be produced when the target is revealed. God has carefully crafted each one of us for His purpose and hides until the target comes into view. Then suddenly, when the enemy appears, He has just the right arrow to destroy the powers of darkness. 

Often in hiding, discouragement will weigh us down and make us question God’s love and plan for us. Discouragement will keep us from prayer, from God’s Word, and from hearing the Voice of the Lord. Remember that praise is a weapon! When we begin to trade “the spirit of heaviness for the garment of praise (Isaiah 61:3),” the atmosphere changes, and victory is loosed! Don’t let the enemy sidetrack you from the process and purpose of God! What God protects, He sustains!
​
Be encouraged this week that, while God may have you hidden, He sees you and holds you in the palm of His hand. You are loved, you are called, you are chosen. God only hides us for a season, but oh believer, the glory that He will reveal! Join us next week, online or in-person, at Regeneration Nashville for another inspiring message from Pastor Kent and a powerful time in the presence of the Lord! Be Regenerated!

Your friend in Christ,
​Pastor Jasmine