"Yet a time is coming
and has now come when the true worshipers will worship
the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the
kind of worshipers the Father seeks." - John 4:23

My Heavenly Daddy is healing
me from the inside out.

Transparency is Real.
Many times painful.

Daddy let me be secure in You only!

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

HIDDENNESS


The excerpt below is posted all around my apartment and even at my work station. It is a constant reminder how tough hiddenness can be. At the same time what a wonderful quality to our spiritual life.

Even after coming off on Tuesday with doing my devotional for the company, and feeling pretty darn good about myself, knowing very well I could not have done what I did without the Holy Spirit, I am still reminded how frail and human I am.

Sure the accolades felt good. And the encouragement was welcomed. And I am grateful. But....depending on people's opinions and responses to me is NOT what I desire to seek after as my source to life. To make me feel worthy. To make me feel good about myself. Too painful. People hurt. People are broken. People will ALWAYS let you down! No matter how good you think someone is. We are human. We have flaws.

I desire my hiddenness to be a place of intimacy with my God. To keep my focus on Him. He will never let me down. Sure,it is hard to trust. Very hard. Especially for those of us who have been ignored, rejected, abandoned and shamed in life. I want to experience God's love. I want to experience the Joy He promises. Human's I gather can only give so much love. I am not an expert in this area. We cannot depend on one another to fill that void of intimacy. Only Christ can. Only hiding in Him can fill that void in going before Him with our pain and praises.

I mediate on the below daily. I hope you can be blessed by the words as well:


Hiddenness is an essential quality of the spiritual life. Solitude, silence, ordinary tasks, being with people without great agendas, sleeping, eating, working, playing … all of that without being different from others, that is the life that Jesus lived and the life he asks us to live.

It is in hiddenness that we, like Jesus, can increase “in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and with people” (Luke 2:51). It is in hiddenness that we can find a true intimacy with God and a true love for people.

Even during his active ministry, Jesus continued to return to hidden places to be alone with God. If we don’t have a hidden life with God, our public life for God cannot bear fruit.

One of the reasons that hiddenness is such an important aspect of the spiritual life is that it keeps us focused on God. In hiddenness we do not receive human acclamation, admiration, support, or encouragement. In hiddenness we have to go to God with our sorrows and joys and trust that God will give us what we most need.

In our society we are inclined to avoid hiddenness. We want to be seen and acknowledged. We want to be useful to others and influence the course of events. But as we become visible and popular, we quickly grow dependent on people and their responses and easily lose touch with God, the true source of our being. Hiddenness is the place of purification. In hiddenness we find our true selves.

by Henri Nouwen


13 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this JBR! How often we go with the world's flow. It's always rushed. Always busy. This is true...How in hiddenness, this can be a place of purification as we spend some quiet time with Him and truly know He is God. Blessings.

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  2. Awesome post, JBR! Thanks for your thoughts on this.

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  3. A eyeopener JBR. Haven't seen anything written quite like this on hiddenness and what can be expected if we're connected with God. God Bless.

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  4. Amen to this! He is our hiding place....

    So very true...."If we don’t have a hidden life with God, our public life for God cannot bear fruit. "...

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  5. INFORMATIVE POST CAREFULLY WRITTEN.

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  6. Hi my sister in Christ,

    Sorry I have been away for so long. I got your wishes for a merry Christmas! How was yours? Your post spoke to my heart. And my last post talked about needing a kindred spirit. My kindred spirit is St. Therese. I ask her to pray for me everyday and she listens. She sends me roses. St. Therese, the little flower, is the Strong, Caring, Independent, Christian Woman I want to be. And yes, only God can fill the void we are looking for. You are so right.

    Hugs with blessings,
    Amanda

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  7. Yes I do want my hiddenness to be an intimacy with God! Thanks
    kim

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  8. Lovely post. (((JBR)))

    Wishing you well,
    NOS

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  9. JBR: I call it the mystery of faith. It is something that is individual to each one of us, and we all experience it differently! Loved this post JBR!!!

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  10. i've never thought of hiddenness this way... thanks for the post!

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  11. JBR, I love love love walking on my journey with you beside me. You make my spirit smile!

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  12. Thanks for this lovely post. I enjoy hiddenness followed by short relief when I come out into the world again and am noticed for a while..

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