Hidden in Christ

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Back in April, I really became burdened for our young christian girls. I know that the pier pressures that come from the "world" and pier's are very real. There is the desire to "fit in," to be loved unconditionally, to be beautiful, to be PERFECT. This is obviously not a real goal. We cannot attain these things on our own. However, we can be content in the "perfect" person that God made us to be. Young girls, and older ladies alike, desire to be loved by the love of their life, whether they have found that person or not. I was researching this idea, and I got an email from an eBay customer and it was signed with the quote that Maya Angelou uses (she did not write it):

A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.

You know, when I was a teenager, I think I would have said, "Oh, beautiful quote!" and gone right on with my life. But now? I spent time, thinking on it, devouring it.

I spoke on this to our young girl's group, Moxy (which means "courage in the face of adversity"). I took a beautiful chest or trunk with me. I put inside it a gorgeous rose. I told them that the rose, which would represent us a ladies and the delicacy of our lives and hearts. That being inside the trunk represented the fact that we were hidden in Christ and that the only way for a man to find us was to go through God (the trunk.)

I talked about how to be hidden in Him. That seeking Him first, not others, not things, but HIM. Not waiting to see who would stand at their pew, at alter call, but the ones who went straight to the alter, drape oneself over it, giving their whole self.

I used the story of Ruth to begin with. She had Boaz's blessings when she dwelt in his fields, but when she went to him and layed down at his feet, completely giving herself to him, he covered her therefore covering her in marriage and then everything he had became hers. As long as she worked and provided as much for herself as possible, Boaz helped from a distance, but as soon as she gave completely she had everything that his kingdom offered. Love, protection, honor, earthly wealth.............. on and on.

I was thinking about a post for today and I felt impressed to share this with you! I'm attaching my notes even thought I have basically reiterated it all already! I love you all! Remember the quote.......

A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her. Maya Angelou

Col 3:2-3 “Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Col. 3:2-3

1) Our hearts long to be hidden (safe, adored, secure) in something or someone.
2) And the thought of a man seeking God to know our heart is so tender and precious, and would leave any woman feeling extremely loved and cherished. Fulfilled
Fulfilled adjective: Completed to perfection
fulfilled adjective(of a person) satisfied, having achieved everything he or she needs to have and to do

Yes, our hearts long to be hidden in someone who will protect, love and cherish us immensely for who we are and who we are becoming. But to many women, this quest to be hidden in someone ends in broken hearts, consuming emptiness, and wasted lives. Take a look at the culture around you. What are most young women “hiding” themselves in? Boyfriends? Appearance? Clothes? Diets? Drugs? Sadly, the answer is yes. Sinful human nature will lead you right to these for satisfaction and happiness. A woman’s identity in this world is based on her man, body, and status. If you don’t have these, you will stand out - in a negative way.
As a result of this unbiblical mindset, young girls are cast into the world scrambling to be hidden in something just to fit in, and to find their own happiness. How cruelly they are deceived when a boyfriend doesn’t make you feel safe, your image changes, and at the end of the day you are still fighting that awful, gnawing hunger for something more in the core of your soul.
Dying to the world and it’s ways (Being hidden in Christ, burying ourselves) , we can set our hearts on Someone else. Self has died - and life is hidden in Christ! This word “hidden” can also be translated “planted”, like a seed that is buried in the earth. How astounding that we who have died to sin are like a seed, dead in itself; yet in Christ hidden and buried we become alive and fruitful! We are safe and secure in the refuge of Christ, and our hearts are finally at peace and satisfied in His transforming and fulfilling presence. Our hearts are hidden in Christ alone and this is where we belong.
But we must be prepared to realize that we will not “fit in” by the world’s standards. This quest for a hidden heart in Christ results in a set apart lifestyle that is lived differently than those who are in the world. We don’t (shouldn’t) act, dress, talk, or behave like the world, because we don’t seek the things the world seeks. We seek that which is above - that is Jesus our Lord and the virtues He bestows.
And what blessings this hidden life brings! We have Christ and His Word to comfort and encourage, urging us to press on, stay hidden in Him, and live for Him; conforming to His image and persevering in our sufferings. It is in this set apart life lived for Jesus alone that we embrace the hidden heart and it’s pleasures forevermore.
Benefits that come with being hidden
Isaiah 45:3
3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

1 Corinthians 2:7
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
Our hearts seek no one else for the happiness we find in Jesus. And if it be His will, He blesses us with an earthly man who can represent to us Christ Himself in many ways. For the woman whose heart is truly hidden in Christ is favored to receive a man seeking after God’s heart in all his ways - including finding her.

Psalms 32:7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

Psalms 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
KJV

disclaimer: There are parts of my notes that I used quotes from different authors or blog posts.