Hidden Things

Job 39:1  "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the does? Job 39:2  Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth. 

Chapters 38-40 of Job are a marvelous look at our transcendent God who chides man for thinking too highly of himself.  He takes us through the natural universe and reminds us that we didn’t create it and for the most part don’t even understand it let alone are we able to control very much of it.  For all the thousands of years on earth man has only scratched the surface of the wisdom of God. 

I quoted the verses above for a particular reason.  One thing we see in these chapters is that a vast amount of what goes on in God’s creation is completely unobserved by man and some of it never will be seen at least in this present age.  My point is that God is pleased and glorified in his work because it reflects some aspect of his glory and this is true whether man has the opportunity to see it or not.  All his work points to his glory and he has made sure that every detail was done right and goes through its functions and whether anyone else sees it or not is not important.  Everything was created for his glory and will fulfill that purpose whether hidden or in the open; whether before us every day on earth or beyond the strongest telescopes of man and so completely unknown to man. 

 I think there is something important here for us to consider.  I recently heard the story of a man who took his watch to be cleaned by the original watchmaker back a couple of centuries ago.  As he looked on, the craftsman open the watch and began his work.  The man noticed an inscription on one of the tiny parts deep inside the watch.  He asked him what it said and why he had inscribed something that no one would ever see but himself.  The watchmaker replied that he had inscribed his name and that God saw it.  The inscription showed that he knew that God saw all that he did and all he did was for God first and the most important thing in all his work was that he did his best for God.  Whether anyone else saw or acknowledged his work was not as important as doing his best for the Lord. 

To the child of God this is a tremendous lesson to always keep in mind.  Just as God does all things perfectly and is pleased with his works even those that no one else sees and will never be seen by anyone else, we need to work in the same way.  In our case God sees everything we do even those hidden thoughts that will never be known by another human being and those acts of kindness that will never be acknowledged before men.  But that is okay because they are firstly done for the Lord anyway.  We are to always do our best not because we are looking for payment or praise but because we are to honor the Lord in everything we do because only in that do our actions have any eternal meaning and higher purpose than ourselves. 

How good is this for the child of God who might spend the last twenty years of his or her life on their death bed and never get outside of the house and not spend much time with other people and be unable to do much of anything outwardly for the cause of Christ.  Yet hidden away from the world they are joyful in Christ, patient in suffering, honoring him in their thoughts and prayers and content to submit to his providence and what enables them to do this is that he is pleased with them and will reward them someday.  1Co 4:5  Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.   

The wonderful thing is that those things done in secret for his honor will someday be brought to light before all.  He will receive glory from all we do.  And yet the warning is that he is equally aware when we do not do in secret those things that please him.  To me this is a great thing to keep in mind while I serve him in this life.