“We fix our eyes not on what is seen,
but on what is unseen,
since what is seen is temporary,
but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:18
The vast majority of leaves have fluttered to the ground. A trivial amount still grasping by a thread trying to delay their destiny. But every moment, another joins the expanding heap below. Branches once looking like queens and kings ordained in a brilliant array of color, now stand as poor starving beggars, naked and stripped. Their adornment and pride laying at their feet. Trunks once home to life and chatter stand empty and quiet.
Why does their brilliance fade?
Their protection forgo them?
Their calling disappear?
Will their beauty come back?
Will they be what they once were?
Will they shine again as they were created to?
Will their purpose return?
“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?”
Psalm 139:7
For a season, their beauty is hidden.
For a time, their glory is gone.
For a period, their purpose is altered.
A season of hiddenness and obscurity.
A season of change.
Their healing goes unseen.
Their restoration unnoticed.
Their growth hidden.
A season feeling like eternity, but merely a moment in history.
Then, under the darkness of night, a small voice whispers, “It is time. It is time to come out.”
The sun rays erupt from the ground,
The frost glistening in all its glory,
And a hint of stretching in the air.
A rupture to the hidden season has begun.
An awaking has started.
Tiny buds bursting forth.
Gray turning to lush green.
Brown concealed by pink, yellow, and white.
Trees once again standing proud and prominent; majestic and imposing.
Their season of beauty, returned.
Their time of glory, regained.
Their purpose, revived.
What was unseen is now seen.
If I go up to the heavens. . .
If I make my bed in the depths. . .
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea. . .
“You are there.”
Psalm 139:8–9
We all face seasons of hiddenness.
When the color fades and what is visible is stark and dreary.
When purpose seems obscure, and perspective seems ambiguous.
When life seems redundant and superfluous.
When God seems distant, and hope seems lost,
What do we do in a season of vagueness?
Where do we turn when life feels formless and empty?
Where is our hope when the glory is gone, and our beauty is hidden?
Seasons of hiddenness are hard.
They take courage and resilience,
Focus and kindness.
Just as trees have a season of hiding, sometimes we do too.
What happens in the unseen season determines what bursts forth in the seen season. Frequently, unseen periods are for healing, refreshment, and repurposing. A refocusing, to be able to see the new season ahead.
God often uses unseen seasons to mend hidden hurts, destroy veiled beliefs, and remind our hearts of his unfathomable love for us, Time and again, unseen seasons give us opportunity to spend time with our best friend and life-giver. The one who created us in secret.
When we fix our eyes on what is unseen, we are immersed in something that will last for eternity. And, when the unseen season comes to an end, a small voice will whisper, “It is time. It is time to come out.”
We fix our eyes not on what is seen,
but on what is unseen,
since what is seen is temporary,
but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18
Your word, Lord, is eternal;
it stands firm in the heavens.
Your faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 119:89-90
May your unfailing love be my comfort.
Psalm 119:76
