Hidden For a Purpose

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

 So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Luke 1:21-25

Zacharias remained mute and his wife became pregnant after the angel’s announcement. After Elizabeth became pregnant, she hid herself for five months. Why now? God had taken her reproach by allowing her to get pregnant. Why would she need to hide herself now!?

When we look at the accounts of various individuals in the Bible, it seems that after God delivered a prophetic word to them, they were sent into hiding for a season. Moses was hidden a couple of times. Joseph was sold into slavery. Esther’s identity was hidden for a purpose. Jesus was hidden by being taken away from danger of being slaughtered as a baby boy.

The season of hiding has a great purpose. This is the season of provision, protection, and preparation. In the season of hiding, we shut the door to distractions, doubt, and opinions of others that are harmful to the work of God!

This reminds of the story of the Elisha and the widow where God’s provision came in a unique way. For details see 2 Kings 4: 1-7. The prophet of God told the widow how she was going to get her provision. She was going to borrow jars from the neighbors and fill them with oil. This caused her to have enough oil to sell, pay off debt,  and live off of it.

The widow had to shut the door and do what the prophet told her. She was shutting the door to the naysayers and to doubt. It would have been easy for a neighbor or a friend to stop by and wonder what she was doing with the jars. That provision didn’t make any sense naturally.

Sometimes we need to shut the door to the doubts in our heads. At other times we need to shut the door to trying to explain to others what God is doing. Sometimes we try to defend our  promise or provision from God. It is best to just get alone with God and continue to do what He has asked us to do even when it doesn’t make sense. 

Elizabeth remained in hiding for five months and during this time the baby grew. After this period of time, she was able to physically show that she was really pregnant, and it was not just a weight gain or wishful expectation. In those five months, the door was shut to doubt and unbelief until the word of the Lord took root in her and showed to the world that God’s promise was true!

Sometimes our environment causes discouragement. Our family members and friends may not have the clarity or the conviction about what God is doing in our lives. Has the Lord asked you to shut the door to anything that denies His work in you? Let’s choose today to shut the door and remain in faith. We can choose to continue to nurture and trust His word in us regardless of who/what is around us.