"YOU HAVE HIDDEN THESE THINGS!"

Matthew 11:25-30                         (ESV)

"25 At that time JESUS declared, "I thank you, FATHER, LORD of heaven and earth, that "YOU HAVE HIDDEN THESE THINGS" from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;

26 yes, FATHER, for such was YOUR gracious will.

27 All things have been handed over to ME by MY FATHER, and no one knows the SON except the FATHER, and no one knows the FATHER except the SON and anyone to whom the SON chooses to reveal him.

28 Come to ME, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take MY yoke upon you, and learn from ME, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

30 For MY yoke is easy, and MY burden is light."

It is amazing how our minds can be convinced of what we THINK we see, only to be proven incorrect later.  When I went through my medical problems in 2007, I was absolutely CERTAIN I had been in Chicago, Arlington, Little Rock and various other cities.  It took my wife almost two years to  convince me that I had never left the confines of the hospital caring for me.  Whether it was the medication, brain injury, or divine intervention, my thought process was very deliberate and slow.  Though it was a very traumatic time in my life, I can see now where it was a blessing for me.  The way SEE things now is different from how I saw them then!  

GOD can hide things from some and HE can reveal things to those who seek wisdom from HIM (1 Corinthians 2:10).  HE knows our hearts and knows what our motivations are.  The trials we have been through in our lives, and the one we are going through, expose us to grief or hardships.  Those experiences may help us become what we need to be in the future.   

Matthew 11:25 says "YOU HAVE HIDDEN THESE THINGS" from the wise and understanding.  The King James Version uses the words "wise and prudent".  It is beyond my comprehension how some people can go through an experience and not see the cause of the problem in their life, but things may have been HIDDEN from them.  I may be in the same boat!  Do I NOT SEE some of the things that cause me harm?  Or do I NOT SEE some of the blessings in my life because I am moving at such a pace to recognize them?  GOD can open our eyes to see things from HIS viewpoint if we desire that.  

1 Corinthians 2 tells us that the "things of the Spirit" cannot be discerned by the natural man.  The things of the Spirit of GOD cannot be grasped by the natural man because they are "spiritually discerned".  Spiritual people are not people who are more holy than others, they are simply called by GOD to live for HIM.  FATHER IN HEAVEN, I pray YOU will open my eyes to what YOU desire me to see, that I will be a worthy vessel for YOUR glorification.  My prayer is not to be one that "YOU HAVE HIDDEN THESE THINGS" from, rather one who YOU reveal Heavenly things to!