By Avalanche and Bullhorn

9 September 2012 – What’s Hidden

On 3 September 2012, I had a dream and in short this dream basically involved a flood of water over a bridge, cars being washed away, me swimming deeper under the water to find 3 battered trucks with dead in them. I emailed the entire dream to my pastor and several close friends.

Then on 8 September, I had something hit me and I opened my email and emailed this to my pastor and those several close friends:

There always is a storm involved when God wants us to GO DEEPER. We find in the deep what is hidden. Hidden means two things... put there out of sight and as the cliché goes, "out of sight, out of mind" or hidden also means "forgotten".

Either case... what is hidden still holds authority and can be a door that the enemy uses to gain access.

So what does God do to convict us or in some cases, motivate us to GO DEEP (SEEK HIM like never before)... puts us in a storm.

Just a thought that hit me a moment ago.

I received a reply from my pastor on the 9th, Sunday morning when he read his emails and he even mentioned the above email during the sermon, later that Sunday.

The reason I’m writing this up is because I know that we ALL find ourselves in various storms. Such periods of “trial” are times that we are to grow in Christ. A way to grow in Christ is for us to be aware of what is within us that is hindering/preventing growth or even hindering/preventing our following of Jesus with trusting freedom.

There is another reason as well and this began to be ministered to me. Until today and not until after the sermon, did I understand where God was taking me when the ministering began on the 7th. My pastor was even used by God to point out a very specific scripture to me as 2 Corinthians 4:2 was read during today’s sermon. Check it out and what I’m about to write up will make more sense.

v 2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

Now, theologically this specific verse is Paul informing listeners that there are no “hidden” portions to God’s Word and to be in the context of the message, he’s also informing everyone that he will not water down God’s Word so as to ease listener’s feelings or cater to what they want to hear as truth. Paul will ONLY deliver the unaltered truth of God.

So, as I’m led to write because OUR conscience must be blameless before (in the sight of) God.… some storms that we find ourselves in are for the purpose of simply pointing out to us that there is SOMETHING within us that will CAUSE us to fail. If we never find ourselves in a situation where we fail, then we’d never know what is within us that will cause failure. Failure isn’t to stop us… failure is to show us where we are lacking or what is “hidden”.

On the 7th, I was led to read the Gospel of John, chapter 21. I read through the chapter and when I reached verse 17, I could not stop myself as I begin to cry. When I reached verse 18, this was where this minister began and has continued through today. Even as I write all this down… some personal portions of ministering will not be written up and will remain in my journal. Know this… based on v18, we need to understand that the work that God will have us do can frighten us but when we’ve been completely sifted as Peter was and we surrender all to God, we will be at peace as we follow Jesus.

So, with that said, let me continue with what I am to write up.

God has work for us to do! Some of that work is MORE than what we can handle at the present moment. Work that would cause us to doubt. Work that would frighten us. Work that would cause us to say… I can’t do that or I’m not worthy to do that. So God sets before us a storm and as we enter that storm the trial begins, giving us experiences that are designed by God to change us, to mature us, or show us that… WE CAN.

The storm also is for the purpose of facing something we may be hiding from the world. Believe me, we’ve all been convicted but instead of doing what is right and repenting, we continue and hid it from the world. Whatever we are hiding, THAT hidden “sin” is what is going to cause the doubt, enables us to be frightened, will cause us to say, “I can’t”, or think that we’re not worthy.

That is because hiding the sin doesn’t make its influence over us, go away.

Why? Because as long as we keep it hidden and we don’t expose it by confessing it, this gives satan free access to cause the doubt, fear, and unworthiness within us.

As we pass through the trial, we will find that this is to place us into a position to SEEK God like never before. There is also a specific purpose and result for this seeking of God. You see, SIN cannot be near God. So the closer we get with God, the STRONGER the conviction will be upon us. The closer we are to the LIGHT of Christ, the easier it is to SEE what we’ve hidden within ourselves. Even when it is something we may be unaware of… this closeness to Christ will REVEAL it to us.

This happens while we are in the worst of the storm and we are actually pushed to GO DEEP with God. We need to understand that whatever we have hidden, whether we hold it there or it’s there and we don’t know it… God knows it. He wants to point it out and also tell us that IT NEEDS TO GO. This begins with conviction but sometimes, this conviction is ignored and we bury it and hid it.

So God will create a storm that will MAKE us go deep and find it. Even when something is hidden so deep that it is forgotten, such as a hurt when we were a child. Now 40 years later the sin of unforgiveness is keeping us from doing the work that God wants us to do because with this sin of unforgiveness, satan is able to make us “feel” unworthy. God will use the storm to get us to SEARCH. This searching takes the form of SEEKING Him, drawing in CLOSER to Him and in this period of earnest seeking by crying OUT to Him… whatever the sin is and I used “unforgiveness” as an example, will be revealed. If it is a problem and not a sin, a solution will be revealed.

Surrendering it over, confessing it, repenting of it will remove it from that hidden position and the authorization for satan to cause doubt/fear/unworthiness to be upon you… ends.

The storm isn’t to destroy YOU. The storm is for the authority that satan has upon you to be destroyed. The storm is so that when God’s will is that it is time for you to DO work, satan will not be able to stop you through authority he once had due to an active sin that is hidden.

That storm is to lead you to RENOUNCE what is hidden and to REPENTANCE. Jesus will restore!

Then, as in verse 19 of John 21, FOLLOWING Jesus will not result in any failure and His work that He does through you no matter where this work leads you… will glorify Him as you follow. Without any doubts, no fears, no resistance in thinking that you can’t.