“When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.” John 12:36 NIV
Ever have times when you feel like hiding? I bet we all do—and we’re in good company. The apostle John tells us that Jesus hid too.
The instance in the scripture above took place in Jerusalem during the week before Jesus’s crucifixion. While speaking to a crowd, he predicted his death and encouraged the people to “‘Believe in the light . . . so that you may become sons of light,’” (first half of v.36). Then he left and hid from them.
We aren’t told why Jesus hid from the people at this time. Maybe he needed a break from the crowd surrounding him daily. Or possibly he was trying to prevent an uproar that could lead to his death before the time was right. He might have wanted the people to have time to consider what he’d just said. Whatever the reason, Jesus saw the importance or felt the need to hide.
An oft-quoted passage from the Bible tells us that “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”(Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV) If Jesus saw that there was indeed a time to hide, should we not secret ourselves away at times as well?
So when should we hide away—either from everyone, those outside our closest circle, or maybe just from our work environment?
One instance might be when we’re in serious need of rest or refreshment. Another could be when we need some time to focus on a certain project, person, or aspect of our lives. There may even come a time when we need a period of healing or a season when we need to hide for protection. And we always benefit when we take time to hide away with the Lord, through daily time in prayer and the Word and also in extended times alone with him.
I wonder if it’s a time to hide for any of us right now. Can we sense the importance of such a time? Do we feel the need? Let’s remember that there is indeed a time for everything. Yes, even a time to hide.
“. . . hide me in the shadow of your wings” Psalm 17:8 NIV
*When was the last time you hid? Why did you do it? What resulted? Do you need to hide now?
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Dross Before Gold: Photography, Arts, and Other Skills
Compliments sure feel good, don’t they? I never dreamed they were in my future as I snapped photos right and left during our vacation to the Tetons and Yellowstone, several years ago, but that’s exactly what happened after I started sharing my photos.
Much to my delight, several people commented about what great pictures I took while on our trip. What fun to hear people say things like “Beautiful shot” or “What wonderful photos” after they’d looked at my albums on Facebook or the ones I posted here on the blog.
What they didn’t realize is that I took lots of bad shots in order to achieve the glory shots. They didn’t see the dross that preceded the gold.
Believe it or not, I downloaded over 750 photos to my computer after we returned home. Plus, I’d already deleted the without-a-doubt duds from my camera during the trip. After getting a chance to examine my haul more closely at home, I sent several more shots to my computer’s recycle bin. Even with that, I shared only a portion publicly. Bye- bye, dross. Hello, gold.
As I learn more about whatever camera I’m using and put in more practice time, I won’t have quite as much dross to sift through during future photo-athons. But you know what? I don’t mind the dross so much if I end up with some gold to enjoy.
Photography’s not much different from writing—or any other skill or art for that matter—in the dross and gold department. I write lots of so-so sentences before I finally get some good stuff. I delete and revise certain words or phrases as I type and get rid of others after closer examination. Then I select just the right ones to share with the world. Bye-bye, dross. Hello, gold.
Looks like the old saying “practice makes perfect” proves true once again. It’s up to us to decide if we’re willing to put in the practice to perfect the skill, to deal in some dross in order to gain the gold.
Is it worth it? My spirit says “yes!” Does yours say the same? Okay then—what are we waiting for? Let’s go for the gold!
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.“ Colossians 3:23 GNT
In what skills are you working to achieve gold?
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*Flickr photo by photosteve101, Creative Commons License