In our culture of social media, Instagram, Facebook, IGTV, and YouTube, we are pressed to believe that if our faith is not celebrity status, it is not really faith. If our faith is not big enough to have followers and likes, then our faith is not enough. If what we do for Jesus isn’t seen on certain platforms, then we need to do more for Jesus. Celebrity status is not the litmus test of a life that loves and knows Jesus. It is not about how much others see of us—it is how much we see of God. Mary is a great example of a life of faith. Before anyone knew her name, Mary knew and saw God.
Mary did not have celebrity status at this point. No one knew Mary, yet Mary knew God. Mary knew God with the depth of her being. She knew God and could say, “Let it be to me according to your word.” She praises God with a song in Luke 1:46–55, proclaiming who he is and what he has done. She sings of his justice, his faithfulness, and his sight of the poor and lowly. She believes and knows that God sees her. God sees Mary, and Mary sees God. No one knew her, but Jesus did.
the gift of quiet
All of this changes very quickly when Jesus is born. King Herod hears the news and wants to find Jesus so he can kill him (Matthew 2:1–18). Mary is now known, and her son is a threat. Can you imagine what it would have been like if others had known Mary’s story at that point? What if they had known of the crazy, miraculous, culturally problematic pregnancy?
Before she and Jesus were known, Mary was given this gift of quiet and a space to deepen in faith. She was given a few months of reflection. A gift before the chaos. In that time she was able to confide in her cousin, lean into her husband, and deepen her praise and wonder of God. That time of anonymity was a gift of space to ponder, to reflect, to praise, and to get ready for what was to come. And what was to come would be widely public and incredibly painful.
unseen
We all feel the pull to be seen. We want others to notice us, our gifts, and what we have to offer. At times this can be a selfish pull, and we need to remain humble through confession. As we confess our sin, whether it is pride, selfishness, greed, or something else, God’s grace and mercies meet us. At other times the pull of being seen can be the longing to live as God has called you to live, to have someone notice your gifts, your mind, your heart, and your service. With so much competition, minimization, and comparison in our worlds, we are left unseen. Living a faithful life following Jesus does not have to be done on a stage or on a platform. Your obedience to him is not a show.
Here and now with the COVID-19 Pandemic, I spend more time in prayer and in God’s word. In these humble spaces I can listen to God and let go of the need to control and just surrender and trust! I stop living my life like it’s an emergency and look at his wonderous works all around me and thank him, thank him, thank him! I also connect more deeply with others in my church family and my family and this is so precious to me, this is what he wants from me, to love others well!
Social media has immersed itself in everything we do. You travel to an island, you share incredible pictures on Instagram, your baby walks for the first time-you share a video on Facebook, you get a new haircut, you give a shout-out to your hairstylist on how amazing it turned out. Every time we do anything we share about it for the world to see. Is it because we want attention? Maybe. Is it because it’s what everyone else is doing? Possibly. We all want to be seen and have our lives here on earth matter. If we aren’t sharing about it, who will know what we did when we were alive? Being humble and selfless about our lives is not the norm. We want connection, so we share. Next time I share on social media I’ll pause and think about my heart behind it. Am I sharing for my own selfish praise and glory, or to glorify God? Having daily devotional time with God helps me prepare for the day and set my intentions. God knows my heart. He knows my calling, all I have to do is follow him.
I will share with you that one of the best, but really hard things I did several years ago (!) was to decide social media was a spiritual distraction, and not at all an enhancement to my life. Challenge yourself- if you can’t quit cold turkey- to eliminate checking and posting for maybe one day a week. Then track your spiritual growth and see if you aren’t convinced to eliminate it altogether. (I still get things sent into my email inbox, like the IF studies)
Blessings and best wishes.
My unseen space right now is staying at home with my four young children while my husband works and provides for our family outside of our home. I am getting more time to spend praying and reading the Word. I also am learning to trust Him to provide for my needs moment by moment like He did when I was working outside our home, but in a different way. I am getting to teach my children more about God and what it means to know Him and love Him. I am being challenged by how I respond to situations in which I do not have control or am weary.
Wow! How appropriate is this today? We are in the unseen space – literally. I strongly believe God has placed the world in this position to encourage us to turn our hearts and minds to him, and to learn to trust him as Mary did.
Amen…for such times as these…
Right now with CoVid keeping me at home I have an amazing opportunity to draw closer to the Lord.
I can choose to do that or choose other things that will not strengthen my walk with Him.
That is one reason I am choosing to do this study.
I feel like God gives me the gift of unseen spaces early in the AM when i can pray and reflect but i don’t always make the time for it….rarely make the time. I would like to know God more deeply and that is why i am doing this program and carving out time after dinner for me.
This is a time when I am less busy. I can take quiet time to read God’s Word to strengthen my faith, grow our relationship, and calm anxiety over things I cannot control. God has blessed us with time to slow down and refocus.
When you are in the unseen quiet times, you actually have the opportunity to intentionally seek God and just sit in His awesomeness. Taking this time to come before him and just develop that relationship with Him. It’s in that time that you’ll come to know His word and be more confident in it.
I tend to be a starter and a doer. So being reminded that where we truly START is in the unseen and still moments before the Lord is a really good reminder that I need daily.
I feel like there are gifts in me that I don’t know how to use, or am afraid to use. I don’t want to come off as self important by proclaiming them or allowing myself to boldly share them. I feel like this is a good reminder to trust God with the timing and usage of my gifts. He knows what is prepared for me, and how those gifts will carry me through. Having the humility to trust his timing and purposes feels like the right step to let go of the anxiety of knowing where, when, and how to use my gifts. Thank you for this perspective and for providing Mary as the example. I have such awe for her.