Stop Hiding

Who likes being exposed? I’d say pretty much no one. It puts us in an uncomfortable place where we feel like we’re being set up to fail. And since we seem to be naturally wired to avoid failure at all cost, we would rather hide than be exposed. When we think of someone being in hiding, we more often than not visualize someone being in a secluded, out-of-the-way place removed from any interactions with anyone else. But I would venture to believe that there are even more people standing right in front of us who are hiding in plain sight.

Different people hide different things for different reasons, but here are just a few of things I frequently see people hiding.

Hiding Your Face

Now, let me just admit I had to start with this one because this is what I am continuously trying to hide. Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I am always avoiding the camera. I don’t like to be photographed, videoed, posted, tweeted, snapped, tagged or shared. And it seems like the more I try to hide, the more the camera seems to find me. So, what am I so afraid of? I’m afraid of what’s going to be captured. The camera is not forgiving and many times neither is the photographer. I know we’ve all seen those pictures of people where they’re making some kind of weird face or they’re in some kind of awkward pose or something’s just not right. Yeah… I don’t want those kinds of pictures of me floating around out there. But the truth is, I have no control over that so I might as well stop hiding.

Others may hide their face because they don’t like what they see in the mirror. No matter what we do, we never seem to be satisfied with the way we look. The more we focus on what we believe is wrong with us, the less we focus on what God says is right about us. While there’s nothing wrong with us doing things to help us to feel better about our appearance, we must not allow the enemy to use this as a reason to hide.

Hiding Your Gifts

God has graciously given each one of His children a spiritual gift and He did not give it to us for us to hide it. He gave it to us for us to use it and to share it with others. Some people are hiding their gift because they haven’t taken the time to find out what it is. Others hide it by choosing not to use it. If you’re waiting on a position or approval or a platform before you use your God-given gift, you’re hiding. If you’ve settled into the comfort zone of using one gift but haven’t taken the step of faith to operate in a different gift that you know God’s telling you it’s time to start using, you’re hiding. If you’re minimizing the impact your gift can have on others, you’re hiding.

If you’re afraid you don’t quite know how to operate in your gift, surround yourself with someone else who operates in a similar gifting and learn all you can from them. If you’re afraid of what others may think once you really start operating in your gift, then you’ve got to get to the point where you’re more concerned about what God thinks than you are about what other people think. Because no matter what the reason is as to why you’re hiding your gift, it’s not going to be an acceptable excuse when you stand before Jesus and have to give an account for it.

Hiding Your Hurts

Now this one is running rampant. People all around us are hurting and we don’t even realize it. You, my friend, are hurting continuously and you haven’t even said a word. You’re doing all you can to put a smile on your face while you’re hiding your hurts and gradually dying on the inside. This is not the life Jesus died for you to live. Darkness is the enemy’s playground and there is nothing he would like more than for you to continue to choose to not expose your hurts to the light. He’ll plant all kinds of thoughts in you mind to cause you to keep your hurt in hiding. “No one else would understand.” “You’re all alone. There’s no one for you to talk to.” “This isn’t something you want someone else to know about.” “You say you’re a Christian. Shouldn’t you be over this by now?”

Silence the voice of the enemy and allow someone to help you. Find someone you can trust and talk to them. Bring your hurts out of hiding and allow to Father to heal them.

Hiding Your Testimony

Maybe you’re not the person who’s hiding your hurt, but maybe you’re the one who’s hiding their healing. The Bible says there’s nothing new under the sun. So, that person you pass everyday who’s hurting and thinking no one would understand, they may be going through exactly what it is that you have already overcome.

Many times we don’t want to share our testimony because we think people will judge us or think differently of us. We want them to see where we are now and not where we came from. Now, I’m in no way suggesting you go on social media or grab a microphone in front of a random audience and reveal your deepest, darkest secrets. I’m talking about being willing to open your mouth and share your story when the Holy Spirit prompts you to. Simply sharing your story with someone else might just be the healing balm of encouragement they need to free them from their pain. When we stop hiding our testimony, we start healing the hurting.

Since the beginning of time, we’ve been trying to hide. Genesis 3 tells us how Adam hid from God in the garden because he was naked and afraid. When we expose what we’ve been hiding, we too will probably feel naked and afraid. That fear will naturally cause us to run and that nakedness will naturally cause us to hide. But, where we choose to hide is what is critical. Over and over again, the Psalms remind us that God is our hiding place.

Psalm 32:7 – You are my hiding place from every storm of life; You even keep me from getting into trouble! You surround me with songs of victory.

Psalm 17:8 – Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings.

Psalm 31:20 – You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.

Psalm 119:114 – You are my hiding place and my shield. My hope is based on Your Word.

These verses tell us where we’re supposed to hide, and Psalm 119:11 tells us what we’re supposed to hide. It tells us to hide God’s Word in our heart so it can help keep us from sinning against Him. The more we hide IN Him, the less we’ll hide FROM Him. We’ll stop hiding our face, because we we’ll see ourselves the way He see us. We’ll stop hiding our gifts, because we’ll desire to use them to bring Him glory. We’ll stop hiding our hurts, because we’ll bring them to Him to heal. We’ll stop hiding our testimony, because we will long to bring that same healing to someone else. Now, if those aren’t reasons to stop hiding, I don’t know what is. Make the decision today because God’s children have got to stop hiding.

To go even deeper, get your copy of one or all of our Everyday Wisdom Book Series and subscribe to our Everyday Wisdom Podcast.