Hidden Words

As a child, I use to love the puzzles where you had to find the hidden words. It's even fun as an adult. I am always amazed that I can look at a row of letters over and over and not see a word that is hidden in the maze. Then all of a sudden it jumps out at me, and then I am surprised that I didn't see it before.

God likes to hide words, too. God reveals things to us through His rhema word or His revealed word and it seems to be His great delight to remove the veil on something that we may not have seen before that time. Bill Johnson says that "He hides things for us, not from us".

Not only is His word often hidden from us, sometimes it is revealed to us in layers. I like to think of it as multi-dimensional rhema. This rhema to which I am referring is not given to us for the purpose of adding to our head knowledge, but He gives it to reveal a part of Himself to us or a part of who we are to Him. In other words, it's personal. He removes the veil for us and gives us a wondrous glimpse into a word or truth that we have never seen or experienced before that time. Later on, sometimes years later, He may again uncover for us another portion of that same word, not taking away from the original revelation, but adding to it another amazing yet previously hidden insight.

In my own life, He seems to enjoy doing things in groups of 3, and I have had instances of God breathing life on one word 3 different times, revealing 3 multi-dimensional meanings or applications to me. I have learned that the Word of God is like a deep well that has no bottom. It just keeps going and going and continues to provide nourishment and life to those who are willing to look deep into the mysteries of the well.

Our journey with Jesus is one of faith from start to finish and His rhema word is like the fuel for our engine of faith. In Rom. 10:17 this familiar passage tells us that "faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word(rhema) of God". In other words, God must illumine or reveal His word to us for our faith to have a sure place to stand. Too many Christians, myself included, have ventured out in presumption without having heard the rhema of God, only to fail in our valiant attempt to walk in faith.

Much of God's word can be taken and our faith attached to it whether it has become rhema to us or not, because it is God's word and we know it to be true. But many times to truly move out in faith on a word requires the illumination of God on that word to our spirit. When we know that we know that we have heard His voice, or have received His revealed word, then our faith has something to be attached to, and it becomes the sword of the Spirit mentioned in Ephesians 6:17. For it is when we attempt to move out in faith, that the enemy comes to attack us with doubt, unbelief, or other types of assault from the demonic realm. The rhema becomes our mighty sword because it is not just a head knowledge word, but a word that we have experienced or received by revelation. This rhema sword packs a powerful blow to the lies of the enemy because the word is a revealed manifestation of His truth, and where truth is, lies cannot exist any longer.

I use to believe and adhere to the saying that "God does not play hide and seek". I now believe He does, at least when it comes to hiding words. In His infinite wisdom He hides His word for us (not from us) and watches with delight as we find the treasures that He has hidden for us.

We may wonder why He would bother to hide things and not just give them all to us now, but evcn in this earthly realm we know and understand the joy of hiding our gifts, or why would we bother to wrap them? For children, Christmas morning would lose much of it's appeal if all the gifts were placed under the tree unwrapped. It is the hiddenness and mystery that enhances the joy of opening the gift at the appropriate time, and so it is with God's rhema word. He hides it for us and gives it to us at the appropriate time revealing once again His immense love for us His children.

As we come into the realization of the absolute necessity of receiving His rhema word for our lives, our stance can no longer be passive. Matthew 4:4 says, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word(rhema)that proceeds from the mouth of God." His rhema word is our very sustenance and life.

In all this talk about words, it is another mystery that Jesus, in John 1, is called the "Word". And isn't it fitting that far and above all other "words", He is the one Word most worth searching for?

"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:13