Ever gone through a period of time when you think nothing much is happening? Yes it is part of all our stories. They are the hidden years. Even the Apostle Paul had them.
“Then I went to Syria and Cilicia.” (Galatians 1 v 21)
Paul was defending himself and simply saying he wasn’t trained by the apostles and after 15 days in Jerusalem he went far away to Syria and Cilicia. So he was not influenced by anyone.
We know from Acts 15:41 that Paul travelled with Silas strengthening the churches of Syria and Cilicia but this is not that time.
This is between AD36 and AD46 and no one knows what Paul was doing in that decade. There is silence. He doesn’t even elaborate himself. These are his hidden years.
The hidden years are not where you are destined for but where you grow to move into your destiny.
The hidden years can be lived in, you can find a way to dwell there.
The hidden years are the time when nothing much grows, except you.
The hidden years don’t shrink you but enlarge you.
The hidden years don’t weaken you but strengthen you.
The hidden years will come to an end, they are temporary.
The hidden years are essential.
Don’t ever feel overlooked or unnoticed. Don’t ever feel no one knows who or where you are at. Don’t ever feel of no worth and not wanted. Jesus knows you in those hidden years. They can be the most formative of times.
Missions Paul 