"The Still and the Small"

The Lord Jesus Christ trampled sin, hell, and the grave under His nail-scarred feet as He exited the tomb in triumph.

"Having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:15).

The "openly" of which Paul writes speaks primarily to a heavenly display of Christ's victory, at least to this point in God's purposes. Conversely, upon the earth and in our lives, the glory is often difficult to perceive with our natural senses. As in His earthly life, our Lord's dynamic working quite often manifests quietly and with little open display. "We walk by faith, not by sight" declared the Apostle, and we will miss the dynamic involvement of God in our lives if we are not expecting and looking for it (II Corinthians 5:7). Our Lord's character and nature sometimes mandate the parting of a Red Sea, the moving of mountains, and stopping the sun in its tracks. Most often, however, our Heavenly Father unobtrusively works in the shadows and hidden byways where His sons and daughters experience the risen Christ in the still and the small rather than the wind, the fire, and the earthquake (I Kings 19:11-12).

God is far more concerned with our knowing the character of His heart than the power of His hand. The latter is not excluded, of course, and we rejoice when the "openly" of Heaven becomes apparent upon the earth. Relationship with the Lord Jesus, however, is a personal matter. Mere knowledge of His doings, even if spectacular, can never illuminate for us His wondrous Person. The shadows and the byways best serve this purpose, and thus we can expect that the risen Christ will presently be known in ways that require us to see that which cannot be seen. The light of God's heart shines most brightly when we must view it shining in darkness, and when the tears that cloud our eyes to earthly joys become the clarifying lenses whereby we see greater heavenly glories. It is not an easy way. But it is God's way, and it is our way if we have believed in the risen and living Lord Jesus.

"The light shineth in darkness."

(John 1:5)

"Moses endured, as seeing Him who is invisible."

(Hebrews 11:27)