We All Want to Be Known
Obscurity.
This is a word that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. For those of you that aren’t familiar with it, obscurity basically means the state of being unknown, or inconspicuous. The essence of obscurity goes against today’s culture, where everyone wants to be seen and known. We use social media as a means to showcase ourselves to the world--to remind people that we exist, that we are valuable, and that we have something to offer. If we’re honest, I think we’d all admit that we want to be known. We want others to know us for who we truly are, or in many cases, for who we are pretending to be. I can write about this because I’ve lived it. I wanted to be known and recognized; yet, because I wasn’t receiving the sort of recognition I thought I deserved, I felt inadequate and overlooked.
Like the kind Father that He is, God began to speak to me about my desire to be known. I began to turn off the noise that came along with social media and tuned into the voice of God. During this time, He spoke to me about obscurity. For many of us, obscurity seems more like a curse than a blessing. We wrestle with the fact that not many people know who we are or what we have to offer the world, and I get it. However, the more time that I spent with God, talking to Him about this issue, He reminded me that Jesus began His ministry at 30 years old (Luke 3:23). This means that Jesus spent 30 years on the earth, without anyone, besides his parents and maybe his siblings, knowing that He was the Messiah. As the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, He reminded me that what Jesus was doing in those years of obscurity was being prepared for what God the Father would do through Him on the earth. Jesus was being moulded, pruned and prepared for what was to come. After this revelation, I slowly, but surely began to see the beauty in obscurity. In those years of being unknown, Jesus was spending time with His Father-- He was learning and growing. He had the privilege of doing these things without the judgemental eyes of the Pharisees, or the demanding crowds. Jesus was able to fully prepare without any hindrances. I also imagine that during this time, He was being faithful with what God the Father had placed in His hands.
In our seasons of obscurity, it's so important that we use the time to grow in our relationship with God. I've realized that I was more concerned with the world knowing who I truly am and what I have to offer, when I should have focused more on being known by God, and knowing Him. God reminded me that in this season, I get to learn about Him and about myself. I get to grow organically in my giftings, not to broadcast them to the world for validation, but to perfect that which God has placed in my hands. I think many of us struggle with obscurity because we know deep down that God has called us to great things. There are dreams that He has deposited on the inside of us that we want to accomplish, and it’s difficult because instead of doing these great things, we feel hidden--tucked away, wondering if God will really do what He promised. We desire to be known because we know that there is greatness within us.
If that is you, I want to encourage you to embrace obscurity, like our Saviour did. Learn all that God wants you to learn in this season. Grow in the areas that He is helping you to grow in. Be faithful with the things that He has placed in your hands. Most importantly, make it your goal to truly know God and be known by Him.
Embrace this season for all that it is, and when the time is right, God will release you into your destiny.