Hidden For Glory, Seen For Glory

Exposing the Lies of Pride in Disguise

Introduction

As I write this letter I am coming to realise the reason why introverts like myself would rather hide than be celebrated. When you peel back the layers and look at the root of it, shying away from being in the limelight isn’t always a good thing. I grew up as an introverted child, I had a close group of friends but I hated being the centre of attention. My expressive personality and my sense of humour would only be experienced by those closest to me. However people who knew me from afar could only judge me by the things I did apart from the peculiar traits of my character. I grew up around people who have completely different experiences of me simply because of what I chose to show and what I chose to conceal. I guess this protected me from unnecessary criticism and being let down by people I didn’t trust. However this subtle trait of mine planted seeds of fear into my being, where I grew in the comfort of being hidden. I would constantly find myself shying away from being seen even when I had something good to show. When I look back at this behaviour growing up, the desire to live a hidden life was driven by the fear of man. But this is no valid reason seeing that man didn’t save me or love me unconditionally. The moment I recognised the need for a loving saviour my motives around how I exposed myself to the world began to change. Whether you are an extrovert or an introvert like me, God’s reasons for hiding you and his reasons for exposing you remain the same. It is all for his glory and the moment you recognise this, the fear that surrounds being hidden and the fear that surrounds being seen goes away.

Hidden For Glory

Have you ever found yourself trying to get your life back on track and nothing is being noticed or celebrated? You could be trying to launch a business or trying to find your significant other. However your audience doesn’t seem to value your gifts and neither does the man or woman you are trying to impress. That is how I felt when I was trying to bounce back from several missed opportunities in my career and personal relationships. I regretted my introverted lifestyle as it became the point of blame for everything that failed to go my way. Sometimes you might pray to God for that very thing that you believe would turn your life around and even he doesn’t seem to see or hear you. Feeling hidden can be a truly painful experience especially when you don’t believe that there is a reason for it. But what I have grown to understand is that God has a reason to hide his children from being in the centre of a counterfeit light. What happens is that when we desperately want to be seen there is a tendency to subconsciously idolise the things that help you shine in the eyes of men. Where it all goes wrong is at your point of motive.

What God is trying to protect you from by hiding you from the world are the lies of pride. Imagine I had my way with everything I was trying to earn through my career and personal relationships as I stated in the example above. I would be the cause for celebration and not God. However God’s gifts don’t come with a wage, they are given freely. Pride is the result of something earned but gratitude is the result of a gift received (Ephesians 2:8-9). The hardest thing for many of us to admit is that we are motivate d by pride beneath the surface and that is usually the point we give up on all of the things we do because the results aren’t coming. God doesn’t want you to better yourself because of the idolised results, he wants you to better yourself to be in a better position to receive the gifts that super-seed anything you could have ever earned on your own. This is why I believe we are hidden; because self destruction is the ticking time bomb hiding behind self glorification.

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Philippians 2:3-4

There is a beauty in the hidden place that is so often overlooked by many. This comes in the form of exaltation as a result of humble motives. Therefore when you are perfecting your craft examine your motives. Anything other than the love of God, and those around you is a motive that has you working for a wage that doesn’t reward. When I was hidden I came to realise that God loved me way too much to let me work my way towards self glorification. God is to be glorified in your salvation and in your lifestyle. Therefore even when the world is ignoring you, don’t give up because you are simply honouring the light within you that is preparing you to shine for all the right reasons!

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name

Philippians 2:5-9

Seen For Glory

On the flip side, have you ever found yourself shying away from being seen especially when it seems like God wants you to shine? This is where most introverts like myself resort to false humility as our justification in disguise. We take a half truth to manufacture a complete lie! The recognition of the prideful motives rooted behind public celebration might be true, but the complete dismissal of God getting the glory is a complete lie. As you examine your life today you might be in this exact predicament. Making an excuse to hide your God given gifts and talents because you don’t want to come off as prideful. Remember that the same God who made himself of no reputation is the one calling you to shine. This is very different to the counterfeit light that encourages you to look to man for validation.

When you are to be hidden for his glory the lies of pride tell you that it shouldn’t be because everything good dwells within you. When you are to be seen for his glory the lies of pride tell you that nothing good dwells within you. Both lies serve in opposition to one thing: the glory of God. However the truth of God is this:

The good in you is God in you.

Therefore when you are to be seen it is for God to be seen. Your approach to your day to day activities shouldn’t be motivated by how you are seen but it should be motivated by who is seen through you. Everyone who has been rescued by the grace of God now has a ministry to let their light shine before men so others can see, believe and partake in his goodness. This is the primary and secondary reason for your gifts and talents.

I hope this encourages you today to find rest in the hiding place or in the place you need to be seen!