Mark 4:19
"And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the Word, and it becometh unfruitful."
God hides Himself for a season to chasten worldly-mindedness, to keep His own from becoming “unfruitful.” Some may boast that they have been delivered from worldly-mindedness, but I am here to tell you that, after all these years since the LORD opened my heart and taught me of His Grace and Mercy in Christ, I still struggle with worldly-mindedness—and so do you. Only a liar would claim otherwise. It is part of our nature. As the hymn says: "Prone to wander, LORD I feel it. Prone to leave the One I love."
We become attached to this world and its comforts whether it be our families, job security, bank accounts, or other earthly things. To prevent us from placing our confidence in this world, the LORD brings trials—fires that burn away the chaff, hay, and stubble—to reveal Who is Truly Precious. These trials are ordained by The LORD to keep us from becoming too attached to this world. Since our nature is to be worldly-minded, God hides Himself to awaken our longing for Him and to redirect our attention. As Scripture teaches: "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus 2:12). God shows His Mercy, Love, and Kindness even in hiding Himself for a time, for it produces fruit in its season.
The LORD ordains our seasons. Everything is exactly the way it should be, whether in the heat of the day or the storm: "the LORD hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm” (Nahum 1:3). When He withdraws, He teaches us of His Sovereignty and reminds us that HE directs ALL things. We are not our own. If we have been bought with a Price, we belong to the LORD. Shall He not do with His own what He wills? His hiding also humbles us, lest we become prideful and arrogant in the blessings He gives us through Christ. Too often we treat these blessings as if they were our right!
When the LORD hides Himself, it humbles the soul made alive by the Spirit of God and reproves the pride of presumption. The pride of presumption takes what God gives to undeserving, vile sinners, and gives ourselves the glory, as though we earned or deserved it. But no—Christ alone earned the Righteousness that satisfied a Holy God by His obedient death on the cross. He is the Price paid! May the Spirit cause us to look away from the world and to Christ alone!
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