In my mind’s eye, obscurity is the abyss.
The pit.
The wilderness.
Going in circles.
It’s a place we beg to get out of.
We want out now.
Not later.
Now.
We fight and fight.
We lose heart. We let despair wash over us. We are hopeless.
We get so weary of the constant barrage of arrows coming our way. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel.
No glimmer of hope.
Our status has changed. Our career is in need of repair or we need a do over. Our family has disintegrated from what once was in reality a facade to now the humility of not having it all together. Public. Disaster. Divorce.
We need to be rescued.
There’s a line in a song I heard recently
“ before each new beginning there must be an ending.”
We reach the end. The question looms, “How long will I be here?” How long must I wade through this grief, shock, sadness, anger, and confusion of what’s next?
This ending takes us into obscurity.
Obscurity= the state of being unknown, inconspicuous, or unimportant.
Must go through obscurity to reach the open door to our next assignment.
Obscurity is the training ground for what is to come.
Healing, forgiveness, and a deeper sense of who God is in your life happens here. He establishes His strength in us. He builds character. He turns our weaknesses to strengths.
We believe it to be the worst possible place. While God is working on us, the trials and attacks are relentless. Trying to tear what is left of us into tiny pieces that scatter in the wind. Gosh, it feels that way sometimes. Maybe daily. Shoot. Maybe every minute. Our emotional well being is at stake.
These are things we know to do:
Weep,
fight,
question,
pray,
believe God will cause all that has happened for good.
We are up and down emotionally. We are scared. Will this cause our children more grief than they deserve? We are not brave. We are not steadfast. We are wavering.
Mind you, not wavering in the decision, but in the fear. Wavering in the fear and wondering how God could and would cause all things to work for her good and her kids good.
Uncontrollably at times. We do not know which way is up.
Let’s be honest here, sometimes we are in obscurity for awhile. There’s lots of reason why, but mostly I think it’s because He knows to let us skip this step in the process of where we need to go, would cause us to be more prideful than we already are. Or have the mentality of, “I can do this myself!”
I’ve been watching one of my best friends live in obscurity for 4 years. I’ve watched the sheer struggle in her life.
She happens to be the most courageous woman I know.
Let me be the first to say this about her: she loves Jesus deeply.
Wants to do the right thing. Relentless in this!!
Has been unwavering in her desire to be obedient in every decision.
The decision she made? She never once questioned it. KNEW beyond a shadow of a doubt it had to be made.
Devastated by the grief it brought to her children. Undeserved grief; for them, for her.
She has walked through some of the toughest struggles I’ve ever witnessed.
She’s fought for what is right and true. She has stood her ground in one area of her life that was being slandered relentlessly. The enemy attempted to wedge divisiveness in her family.
She fought and prayed. She sought counsel. She cried. Tears of unbelievable grief, sadness, and loss. Tears of grief only because of what she wanted life to be; but now could no longer be. Lots has been stolen from her. The locusts had eaten away the good.
She’s been teaching the last 3 years and in a position that was incredibly difficult. She’s stayed the course. Has wanted to quit, run away, and wondered how she could bear yet one more thing. It has been rough. At times, it has confiscated every ounce of life from her.
Sucked her dry.
She’s applied for different jobs. She never felt like they fit. She waited.
All the while in obscurity.
Continuing. Leading a quiet life. Being obedient. Daily having to remind herself of God’s sovereignty in her life and His promises to never leave her.
This season of obscurity has been difficult.
But she is more beautiful, more confident, more content simply because, while in obscurity she let Jesus have her heart. He’s done the work and she let Him.
Then one day not too long ago, a shift happened. It was small, but was a foreshadowing of what was to come.
She was chosen.
One day when you meet her ask her about it. Something she feared would never happen; happened. Her heart did a dance.
Little by little life started again. Jesus was letting her know her time in obscurity was just about over.
Then a job opened up. She will admit to being torn on whether to apply or not. A position that she believed she wouldn’t be considered for or the salary wouldn’t be enough. She’s a single mom of 3 teenagers.
Not only did the Lord open the door, He provided more than she needed and I’m not just speaking salary wise.
Redemption. Restoration of all that was taken from her and then some. DOUBLE!
The blessing of God’s total favor on her.
Why? She allowed Him access to change her.
In obscurity.
What was a mountain of bricks weighing her down, the Lord cast into the sea. The weight of the past is slowly being removed. Her load lighter, her smile brighter, her eyes clearer.
I realize we will not like the obscure place we find ourselves in. I’m not sure anyone has ever thought they deserved to be there.
Moses spent 40 years there.
Joseph well, his was prison.
The disciples….fishermen, tax collectors, and so on.
Lazarus, his was short…4 days in the grave.
Wherever you find yourself on the timeline of obscurity:
KNOW this: He’s refining you, prepping you, and redeeming you from what has happened to you. He is restoring all that was lost and stolen. I mean ALL that was lost and stolen. The key here is time. He has to have time.
Don’t rush Him!
Psalm 84.11, “He withholds no good thing from those who do what is right.”
There is joy again. There is peace. There is a knowing that the Lord did fight and HE won.
What was once a hesitant dream, is now reality.
PSALM 37.39 The Lord rescues the godly; He is their fortress in times of trouble.
Obscurity was the rescue.
