The Purpose in the Shadows

Photo by Jahanzaib . on Unsplash

The shadows.

The shadows are a place most of us wouldn’t willingly choose to spend our days.

They’re dark.  Uncertainty is lurking around every corner.  

But it’s in the shadows that true formation takes place.  The shadows are the place that ideas, calling and purpose can be worked out and wrestled through.

Nearly every person who has risen to great success, great leadership and great wisdom started in the shadows.  In obscurity.  In the shadow of someone else. 

If we are truly honest, we would prefer to bypass the seasons of obscurity for the spotlight.  And yet by doing so, we potentially short circuit the much bigger masterpiece that God has begun painting. 

You may at times have felt as though you are hiding in plain sight. 

You are not alone!  I have been there.  And some of my greatest heroes have been too.

Returning to the shadows

The shadows are not just a place that we occupy early in our development and formation. They are also a place to which we return to be reminded, reformed and refreshed, again and again.  When we return to the shadows, we can wrestle free from an arena of onlookers and experience renewal.  

Coming out of the shadows

For what it’s worth, this is a tidbit of what I have learned about coming out of the shadows.  

Don’t rush it.  Don’t preempt anything.  Wait patiently for the day God will move you back into the light.  

I liken it to the picture in the New Testament when some of the apostles were in prison and God opened the barred prison doors.  They did not use brute force or strength to get out.  They waited patiently for God to work in his timetable. 

We can be guilty of trying to orchestrate things in our favor, to drum up attention before it’s truly our time.

I heard Billy Graham asked once, “If you could do it all over again, would you have started preaching sooner?”  Dr. Graham answered, “Absolutely not!  I would have prepared more and started speaking later."

There is something Dr. Graham is alluding to, something we see in many other influential leaders.

Joseph.  He went through ultimate obscurity, living as a slave in prison, spending time interpreting dreams and waiting for his release.

David.  He was anointed king early on in his life and then he returned to the field to continue writing, cultivating his craft, resulting in him being ready when he was put into service for King Saul, and ultimately when he stepped into leadership as the king.

Jesus.  He lived in obscurity UNTIL GOD brought him into the desert and released him into his ultimate mission and calling.

Sometimes we live in long periods of obscurity where we are hidden from sight, away from the public.  And sometimes we live in obscurity while living in plain sight.

Sometimes our true calling hides behinds the curtain of ministry. 

Remember this: Faithfulness and opportunity are built over time, not born over night.

We go through seasons of obscurity and others of prominence. But it's in obscurity, in the shadows, that we endure and are stretched, producing great rewards in us, rewards in character, relationship & opportunity. It is worth it.