​We see it all around us, a world that wants to look like it’s doing everything. People are singing, writing, and joining every ministry, trying to give the image that they are sacrificing so much. It looks like a lot of movement, but sometimes, beneath the surface, nothing is actually getting done.

​I want to be clear: I am not judging anyone or calling anyone out. I’m not pointing fingers at the person next to me. I’m speaking on a truth that I see, but more importantly, a truth I have to live by. Because the truth is, I’m pretty sure everyone else sees the “show” too. But our job isn’t to critique them. Our job is to mind our own business.

​Literally. Just pay attention to you. Pay attention to your own inner workings.

​I have to tell myself this every single day because I constantly feel like I’m lagging. I look around and feel like I’m not doing enough for the Will of God. But that is the trap of the “show.” It makes you think that if it isn’t loud or visible, it isn’t valuable.

​The Work in the Dark

​Growth doesn’t happen on a stage; it happens in the dark. It’s the inner work that no one sees and no one cares for. It’s the kind of work that makes you feel like a slave to the process. It isn’t about glory; it’s about suffering and doing it with Grace.

​This is the Principle of Divine Obscurity. God prepares His people in secret before He ever uses them in public. He buries us to grow us.

• ​Joseph was buried in a pit and a prison for 13 years.
• ​Job sat in the ashes of a nightmare while his friends gave him “church talk.”
• ​Moses was a nobody in the desert for 40 years.

​They weren’t “lagging.” They were being forged in the quiet.

​The Power of the Mustard Seed

​When you’ve lived through things that give people nightmares. When you’ve survived poverty and despair, you realize the “show” doesn’t matter. If you’re stepping out with a chip on your shoulder just to prove you’re making a difference, you’ve missed the point. You are just a small piece in a much larger Will.

​The only thing He actually needs from you is Faith. And He doesn’t even ask for a mountain of it. He says if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, He is willing to work with that.

​Think about the mustard seed: for it to grow, it has to be buried in the dirt. It has to be in the dark where no one can see it. You aren’t “lagging”, you are being planted. He can take that tiny grain of faith and work a miracle with it, but you have to be willing to do the work underground.

​The Side-by-Side Walk

​The only thing that matters is the work you do when you are walking beside Him. This is the Principle of the Yoke.

• ​Not ahead of Him: Trying to lead with your own strength.
• ​Not behind Him: Dragging your feet in fear.
• ​Side-by-side: Your head down, focusing only on the next step.

​When you walk side-by-side with Christ, you stop worrying about your own footsteps. You realize you don’t always know if you’re stepping right or wrong, but you know that every step He takes is the right one. You just match the stride.

​Stop trying to be the main attraction. Stop looking at what the person next to you is doing. Go back to the deep waters. Focus on your own mustard seed. That is where the truth lives.

​Let’s Talk Over Tea

​The “inner work” is often the hardest work we will ever do because there is no applause for it.

• ​Have you ever felt like you were “lagging” because your progress wasn’t visible to others?
• ​How do you remind yourself to focus on your own walk rather than the “show” around you?

​Drop a comment below and let’s encourage one another. If you’re in a season of being “buried,” just know, you aren’t forgotten, you’re being planted.