Wednesday Wonderisms #12

Lost LEGOs & Happily Hidden Seasons

Finding hidden things can be a fun challenge. Whether it’s playing a game my kids make up where I have to locate some secret object, or spotting spelling errors in a co-worker’s promo flyer, or noticing tiny details or plot holes in a story, unearthing unseen treasures is a welcome diversion.

Yesterday, my son was looking for a specific set of yellow LEGO character legs among the disparate ruins of epic LEGO sets goneby. As the words of Jesus prophesied long ago, no LEGO was left on top of another.¹ After looking around for north of 45 minutes, he finally discovered them under a plastic pizza toy on a table that was literally right next to him the whole time. True to the words of author Roald Dahl, “the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.”²

Clockwork started to clank and rattle rusty gears in my mind.

Sometimes it feels like the lost LEGO legs are me.

Being in a hidden season of life can feel like someone hit the pause button. There’s little traction, some of your goals and dreams seem to have fallen to the wayside, and you aren’t experiencing the kind of transcendental significance you’d hope to in your work or passions.

• Maybe it’s a financial roadblock for you right now (those are rough).

• Maybe you’ve got a challenging schedule between your domestic and corporate responsibilities.

• Maybe you feel forgotten or abandoned by friends or loved ones.

It feels like you’re coming up against a wall in life. Pushing, wedging your heels into the soil and pressing all your weight against the bricks. Nothing gives. These moments can draw out some helpless and frustrating emotions for us.

A wonderful truth comes to us by way of Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae:

² Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. ³ For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

— Colossians 3:2-3

Take a big gulp of the hope in that last line. It’s good.

Being hidden or feeling lost doesn’t change the reality that God knows exactly where you are. As imagers of God, our lives are hidden with Christ. Our eternal lives. Be encouraged with that today.

Larger-than-life martial artist Bruce Lee (who would totally have yellow LEGO legs as a minifigure) once remarked: “Without frustration you will not discover that you might be able to do something on your own. We grow through conflict.”³

While you’re probably not performing spinning back kicks on waves of ambushing ninja attackers, the pressure of the hidden season may be your conflict. Lean in and ask: “What is God trying to say to me, teach me, develop in me in the midst of my frustration?”

Remember: you will one day be fully revealed in Christ, glorified and incredibly capable and at home in your New Humanity.

You’re not lost.

Even if you feel unseen.

I leave you with three things to help you meditate and reflect on hiddenness today:

1. A couple scriptures to meditate on;

2. A prayer to pray;

3. A song to encourage & challenge you.

SCRIPTURE

“But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, ¹¹ and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands.”

— 1 Thessalonians 4:10-11

¹⁴ I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
¹⁶ Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

¹⁷ How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.

— Psalm 139:14-18

PRAYER

God in Heaven, You are awesome. You’re so holy and unique. There is no one like You and I humble myself before You now.

Thank You for Your great love for me in the midst of my hidden season. Empower and help me to remain faithful to You in all the little ways that reflect Your character inside me. I choose to agree with Your word and reject the words of the tempter.

I am not rejected.

I am not abandoned.

I am not unwanted.

I am not forgotten.

I am not ignored.

Those are lies. Father, I am so grateful that You value me, love me, and accept me in Your Kingdom. Thank You that there is a plan for my life that You are working for my good as I surrender to the Holy Spirit. I choose to keep my eyes on Jesus, seated above, beckoning me onward to chase after His plans. I trust you today, believing you see me even when I feel unseen.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

SONG

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[Wednesday Wonderisms is a short devotional reflection I’ll be sharing each midweek morning. Whether it’s sparked by a Scripture, a conversation with a friend, personal musings while raising my three kids or thoughts on the state of the Church, the goal is to encourage you to become an even more ardent worshiper of King Jesus. Hit the link below to share it with a friend.]

1. This is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:2. And yes, I am joking.

2. Roald Dahl (2017). “Billy and the Minpins (illustrated by Quentin Blake)”, p.77, Penguin UK.

3. Bruce Lee (2015). “Bruce Lee Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living”, p.101, Tuttle Publishing.