Along one's journey to purpose, there are occasions where people will be in seasons of hiding. In these instances it is vital to understand that there are two kinds of hiding as it relates to purpose; people that God hides and people that hide themselves. 

In both cases, the hiding is always purpose related. However, the main difference is this: when God hides you, He does that FOR purpose but when we hide ourselves, we hide FROM purpose.

When God hides you, you are well hidden because there are many things that want to thwart and abort our purpose in the earth but because He is passionate about His will being accomplished, He goes all out to protect them until the appointed time to bring them out of hiding. But when we hide ourselves, we are holding up God’s will and purpose from being accomplished in the earth through us which then causes God to expose us in order to re-align us with purpose again.

Examples of persons hiding FROM purpose that God exposed:  

  • Gideon (Judges 6:11-12)
  • Saul (1 Samuel 10:21-22)
  • Jonah (Jonah 1:1-17)

Examples of persons that God hid FOR purpose:

  • Moses (Exodus 2:1-10)
  • David (1 Samuel 23:14)
  • Jesus (Matthew 2:13-15)

If God is hiding you, fine. Stay hidden because exposing yourself prematurely will prove to be very detrimental. But make sure that it’s God hiding you and not you hiding yourself. How can you tell the difference? When you hide yourself it is usually because of fear like Gideon did, stuff like Saul did, or disobedience like Jonah did. Those are three indicators that let you know that God is NOT hiding you but rather you are hiding yourself FROM purpose.

Don’t hide from your purpose; God is after your purpose because:

  1. He created you with and for it
  2. His will can’t be accomplished if you remain in hiding

So as you progress in purpose, be mindful of every opportunity to execute purpose that presents itself that you don’t grab and ask yourself if this is God hiding you or are you are hiding yourself. 

Darren Wilson is an author, speaker, and entrepreneur based in Saint Martin. He is the author of four books including Designed for Purpose that is available on Amazon. For more information, visit his website at www.darrenwilsonglobal.com or email him at info@darrenwilsonglobal.com.