When God Calls You Out of Hiding (3 Lies to Overcome)
It’s not unlike God to call you to a hidden season. A period of time where you are intentionally set apart to hear from Him and receive the growth and restoration that comes from solitude. Silent seasons like this have their purpose, but are not intended to last forever. At some point, God calls us out. If God is calling you out, it’s because there are people and a purpose on the other slide of your hidden season. But as much as you think we’d be ready and willing to come out, it’s not uncommon to battle fear and complacency, making it easier to stay hidden. But if we do, we miss out on experiencing the fruit of the seed God planted in our hidden season. If you need guidance and courage to navigate your way out of a hidden season, stay tuned. This video is just for you. Enjoy!
This summer, I took my daughter to her first Nike Girls Basketball Camp. When we walked into the gym, it was huge, with three full-sized courts, and filled with girls from all over the area. It was an open gym, and the girls were just shooting around while we waited for registration to complete. I saw my daughter scan the gym, not knowing what to do next. I encouraged her to start shooting around and she did, but I could sense her hesitation, and I saw that she wasn’t playing with the normal confidence she does at home. So I caught her eye and I motioned her to come over to me.
I said, "Victoria, you’re very good at basketball, (she’s been playing since she was 4) and I need you to show it at camp this week. Be aggressive. Don’t be afraid of other people or try to hide your gifts to make them feel comfortable. God gave you the talents and you have to show them, so don’t hide." She gave me a meek smile and laughed a little, and I could tell she was thinking about what I said.
I was intentional to tell her this because I want her to reach her full potential, but also as a sports mom, one of the most frustrating things is knowing how much you’ve invested in your child with endless practices in the backyard, all the money spent on camps, and all the hours spent in your car waiting at school practices, driving to and from games and tournaments, and then for your child to to not show everything they’ve learned when they’re finally on the court, field, or track. No, this is the time when they need to show up and shine the most. It's the whole reason why we’ve invested this money and time.
But then I was convicted. How many times do I do the same thing with all the ways God has invested in me? How many times do you do the same? All the gifts and talents God’s placed inside of us, all the time He’s walked with us, healing us, helping us, giving us the testimony we have today—how He’s turned things around in our lives so we could be witnesses for Him—and then when it’s time to show up, we shrink back. We get small. We don’t want to offend anybody or make anyone feel insecure or less than, and God is looking at us like any parent who has invested in their child, saying, "Child, now is not the time to hide your light. It never was. This is why I invested in you. This is why I healed you. This is why I walked with you. This is why I gave you that gift that makes you so unique and different from everybody else—not so that you could hide it, be timid, and cover it, but so that you could show the world."
That’s my paraphrase, this is what Jesus actually said in Matthew 5:14-16:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew‬ â€5‬:â€14‬-â€16‬ â€ESV‬‬)
God called you out of darkness to be a light. His intent was not for you to simply have the option to choose if you’d show up for not, but that you would. He’s calling His daughters out of hiding, to reflect His glory and show the world His light.
Instead, we have books that we’ve never written, or we wrote them but didn’t publish them, or we published them but didn’t market them, so nobody knows about them. We have the gift of leadership, but we keep it to ourselves. We can encourage, edify, and teach, but we stay silent. We have great ideas, but we talk ourselves out of them, and they never see the light of day. So we keep it a secret, we stay stuck, and we remain hidden when God is calling us out.
I’ve learned there are three major lies that we believe that keep us stuck.
Lie 1: Staying Hidden Means Staying Humble
The first lie we tell ourselves is that by staying hidden, we’re being humble. By hiding our gifts, we’re making sure that we’re not being led by pride. But humility is not hiding, it’s doing what God told you to do and trusting Him to help you see it through. Humility is a focus on God no matter if you’re in a hidden season or not. Pride is a focus on self, and if the reason you are staying hidden is to make yourself comfortable instead of obeying God, that’s just as prideful. Humility is giving God glory no matter what season you are in.
Lie 2: Staying Hidden to Make Others Comfortable
The second reason we may stay hidden when God is calling us out is we can become overly concerned with how we come across to others. We may not want to offend anyone or worry others will think you are showing off. The truth is some people will think this anyway, but that’s not your business. Your business is to do the work of the Father. People thought a lot of things about what Jesus did or didn’t do. He upset and triggered a lot of people, but guess what? He kept doing God's business. We don’t serve people; we serve God. So do what God is calling you to do and let Him worry about the response.
Lie 3: Staying Hidden to Avoid Mistakes
Third, we worry that we’ll mess up whatever God is calling us to. We fear failure so it becomes easier not to do anything. But think about this: God already knows your shortcomings, your struggles, and your hindrances. Don’t you think He took that into account when He called you? And yet, He called you anyway. God trusts you, so it’s time for you to trust God with yourself. He’s not looking for perfect people. He’s looking for faithful servants. Are you willing to come out and show up, not because you have it all together, but because God is the one asking?
- God called Moses out from tending flock in Midian to return to Egypt to deliver His people.
- God called Elijah out of hiding by the Kerith Ravine to find provision elsewhere as he waited for a drought to end.
- After he betrayed Jesus, Peter went back to fishing, but Jesus called him out to get back to ministry to become a founding father of the church.
God is calling you out of hiding for a purpose that is greater than yourself. I get that it's scary because you’re like, I can’t do it and that’s probably true, but you do your part and God will do His. Philippians 1:6 says:
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (â€â€Philippians‬ â€1‬:â€6‬ â€ESV‬‬)
Whatever God starts in you as He calls you out of hiding, He will finish and He will provide whatever you need.
A flower starts as a seed hidden in the ground, but its purpose isn’t to stay hidden. Eventually, it’s time to bloom.
My encouragement to you is to take the first step out of hiding. Pray to God about what that first step is and come on out. Now this takes courage, but God has never failed me when I trust Him more than my comfort or excuses. So I invite you to watch this video where I share how to trust God with your whole heart.
For more encouragement, download my free Bible Study, “Worry-Free,” to learn the 3 lies feeding your worry and the truth to set you free at belovedwomen.org. Thanks for watching, and until next time, be beautiful, blessed, and beloved.