Hidden Seasons: God's Preparation for Our Purpose
Summary
In the journey of faith, there are places in our lives that only God sees—those hidden seasons of struggle, preparation, and pain that shape us for the purposes He has for us. While others may see the outward results—answered prayers, ministry, or spiritual victories—they rarely see the private battles, the setbacks, and the tears that precede them. Just as a choir’s performance is only possible because of unseen hours of practice, so too are the visible fruits of our lives born out of the secret places where God works in us.
David’s story in 1 Samuel 30 is a powerful example. Anointed as king in his youth, David endured years of hardship, loss, and betrayal before the promise was fulfilled. He was hunted, misunderstood, and even those closest to him turned against him. Yet, it was in these hidden places—where only God saw—that David was forged into a man after God’s own heart. The trials he faced were not punishments, but preparations. Like an arrow in the hands of a master archer, David was pulled back—seemingly away from his destiny—so that, in God’s timing, he could be launched forward with purpose and power.
We often want the promise now, the answered prayer now, but God’s process involves setbacks, sorrow, and loss. These are not signs of His absence, but of His loving preparation. Loss strips away what we cling to, sorrow deepens our dependence on Him, and opposition teaches us to listen for God’s voice above all others. In these moments, God is not distant; He is intimately present, counting every tear and using every trial to prepare us for what’s ahead.
When David’s men turned against him, when all seemed lost, he strengthened himself in the Lord. He learned to drown out the voices of discouragement and seek God’s direction. And when he did, God restored what was lost and fulfilled His promise. The lesson is clear: the hidden seasons matter. How we respond in the places where only God sees determines how we will stand when the world is watching. God’s preparation is never wasted, and His purpose will prevail.
Key Takeaways
- The Hidden Work of God Shapes Our Public Lives
The most significant growth happens in the places where only God sees—those private moments of struggle, prayer, and surrender. Just as David’s years of obscurity and hardship prepared him for kingship, our unseen seasons are where God molds our character and faith. What is visible to others is only possible because of what God has done in secret. [02:56]
- Setbacks Are God’s Way of Preparing Us for Greater Purpose
Like an arrow that must be pulled back before it can fly forward, God often allows us to experience setbacks, disappointments, and delays. These moments feel like we are moving away from our calling, but in reality, God is building the strength, velocity, and focus needed for the journey ahead. The backward pull is not punishment, but preparation for the launch into our destiny. [12:43]
- Loss and Sorrow Are Not Signs of God’s Absence
David suffered deep loss and sorrow even while holding onto God’s promise. These experiences are not evidence that God has abandoned us, but rather that He is refining us. God keeps count of every tear and uses our pain to draw us closer, teaching us to value His presence above all else and to trust that what we gain in Him far outweighs what we lose. [34:37]
- The Voices Around Us Must Be Drowned Out for God’s Voice
When people turned against David, he chose to strengthen himself in the Lord rather than listen to the voices of blame and discouragement. In seasons of trial, it is crucial to tune out both criticism and praise from others and to seek God’s direction above all. Only His voice brings true hope, encouragement, and guidance for the next step. [43:22]
- God’s Restoration Follows Surrender and Obedience
After David turned back to God, inquired of Him, and obeyed His instruction, restoration followed. The relationships that were broken were healed, and what was lost was recovered. God’s promises are fulfilled not through our striving, but through our surrender, trust, and willingness to let Him lead—even when the path is painful or unclear. [46:22]
Youtube Chapters
[00:00] - Welcome
[00:35] - Where Only God Sees: The Hidden Places
[01:51] - Jesus, Moses, and the Power of Private Faith
[03:46] - Reading 1 Samuel 30: David’s Trial
[06:07] - The Reality and Purpose of Trials
[07:32] - The Arrow and the Target: God’s Process
[09:48] - Human Effort vs. God’s Timing
[11:30] - The Backward Pull: Setbacks in God’s Hands
[13:27] - David’s Years of Preparation
[16:01] - Setbacks Even After Arrival
[17:59] - David’s Response to Betrayal and Hardship
[20:12] - Handling Criticism and Trusting God
[22:53] - God’s Boot Camp: Learning in Hidden Places
[25:17] - The Battle Intensifies Before the Promise
[27:44] - Loss and Sorrow in the Place of Promise
[33:33] - The Gain That Outweighs the Loss
[34:37] - Sorrow, Tears, and God’s Presence
[41:02] - When People Turn Against You
[43:22] - Strengthening Yourself in the Lord
[46:22] - Restoration and Fulfillment of God’s Promise
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide: Where Only God Sees
---
### Bible Reading
- 1 Samuel 30:1-8
David and his men return to Ziklag to find it destroyed and their families taken. In his distress, David strengthens himself in the Lord and seeks God’s direction.
---
### Observation Questions
1. When David and his men returned to Ziklag, what did they find, and how did they respond emotionally? (1 Samuel 30:3-4)
[[03:46]]
2. According to the sermon, what were some of the private struggles David faced before becoming king that others did not see?
[[14:03]]
3. What did David do when the people around him wanted to stone him? (1 Samuel 30:6)
[[41:02]]
4. In the story, what was the turning point for David after his loss and sorrow?
[[45:32]]
---
### Interpretation Questions
1. The sermon compares David’s setbacks to an arrow being pulled back before being launched. What does this illustration suggest about the purpose of setbacks in a believer’s life?
[[12:43]]
2. Why do you think God allows loss and sorrow even when we are following His promises, as seen in David’s story?
[[29:04]]
3. How did David’s response to criticism and opposition differ from what his men expected, and what does this reveal about his character?
[[20:49]]
4. What does it mean that “the hidden work of God shapes our public lives,” and how is this seen in David’s journey?
[[02:56]]
---
### Application Questions
1. The sermon says that the most important growth happens in the places where only God sees. Are there areas in your life right now where you feel like you’re struggling or growing, but no one else notices? How might God be using these hidden seasons to prepare you?
[[02:56]]
2. Think about a time when you experienced a setback or disappointment. Looking back, can you see any ways that God used that experience to prepare you for something greater? How did it feel in the moment, and how do you view it now?
[[12:43]]
3. David suffered deep loss and sorrow even while holding onto God’s promise. Is there something you have lost or are grieving right now? How can you trust that God is present and working in your pain, even if you don’t see the outcome yet?
[[34:37]]
4. When people around David turned against him, he chose to strengthen himself in the Lord instead of listening to their discouragement. Are there voices in your life—whether criticism or praise—that you need to tune out so you can better hear God’s direction? What would it look like to do that this week?
[[43:22]]
5. The sermon mentions that God’s restoration follows surrender and obedience. Is there an area where you need to surrender your own plans or expectations and trust God’s timing? What is one step you can take to show that trust?
[[46:22]]
6. David’s story shows that even after reaching a place of promise, challenges still come. How can you prepare your heart now, in the “hidden” seasons, so you can stand strong when the world is watching?
[[16:01]]
7. The pastor shared about God keeping count of every tear and using our pain for good. How does this truth encourage you in your current season? Is there a specific way you can remind yourself of God’s presence in your struggles this week?
[[37:52]]
---
Closing Prayer Suggestion:
Invite the group to pray for one another, especially for those who are in a “hidden” season of struggle or preparation, asking God to strengthen, encourage, and guide each person as He did for David.
Devotional
Day 1: Strengthening Yourself in the Lord During Trials
In the hidden places of our lives, where only God sees, we often face trials, setbacks, and moments of deep distress. These are the times when it feels like everything is moving backward, even though we know God has given us a promise or a calling. David, before he became king, experienced devastating loss, sorrow, and even betrayal by those closest to him. Yet, in the midst of overwhelming pain, David chose to strengthen himself in the Lord his God. He turned away from the voices of discouragement and despair, and instead sought God’s presence and guidance. When you find yourself in a season of loss or confusion, remember that God is using these moments to prepare you for what is ahead. Strengthen yourself in Him, for He is always near, even when no one else sees. [41:53]
1 Samuel 30:1-8 (ESV)
Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.”
Reflection: When you face setbacks or feel alone in your struggles, what would it look like for you to intentionally turn to God for strength and guidance today, rather than relying on your own understanding or the opinions of others?
Day 2: God Prepares Us in the Hidden Places
The seasons of preparation, where only God sees, are often marked by setbacks, disappointments, and times when it feels like we are moving further from our goals. Like an arrow pulled back before it is released, God uses these hidden seasons to build the strength, character, and faith we will need when we step into the places where others see us. David’s years between his anointing and his coronation were filled with hardship, but it was in those very years that God shaped him into a man after His own heart. Trust that the backward motion is not wasted; it is God’s way of giving you the velocity and power to reach the destiny He has for you. [12:43]
James 1:2-4 (ESV)
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Reflection: In what area of your life do you sense God is pulling you back or allowing setbacks, and how can you choose to trust His preparation process instead of resisting it?
Day 3: The Purpose of Loss and Letting Go
Loss is a painful but necessary part of the journey toward God’s promises. Sometimes, God allows us to lose things we hold dear—not to harm us, but to prepare us for something greater. David experienced profound loss even while he was in God’s hands and had God’s promise. Like Paul, who counted all his achievements as loss for the sake of knowing Christ, we are called to let go of what we think we need so that God can give us what we truly need. The gain God has for us far outweighs what we lose, and He uses every loss to refine our priorities and deepen our dependence on Him. [33:02]
Philippians 3:7-8 (ESV)
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.
Reflection: What is one thing you are holding onto tightly that God may be asking you to release, trusting that what He has for you is better?
Day 4: God Sees Every Tear and Turns Sorrow to Joy
Sorrow, heartbreak, and pain are inevitable in this life, even for those who walk closely with God. David wept until he had no strength left, and yet he knew that God saw every tear and kept count of every sorrow. Jesus Himself promised that while we will experience weeping and lamenting, our sorrow will ultimately be turned to joy. God does not ignore our pain; He is present with us in it, using it to draw us closer to Him and to prepare us for the joy that is to come. If you are in a season of sorrow, know that God is collecting every tear and will bring purpose and joy from your pain. [39:19]
Psalm 56:8 (ESV)
You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?
John 16:20 (ESV)
Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.
Reflection: How can you invite God into your sorrow today, trusting that He sees your pain and will bring joy and purpose from it?
Day 5: Listening for God’s Voice Above All Others
When people turn against us or when the voices around us are filled with criticism, doubt, or even misplaced praise, it is vital to tune our hearts to God’s voice above all others. David faced betrayal and blame from his own men, yet he chose to seek God’s counsel rather than react in anger or despair. God’s voice brings hope, direction, and restoration, even when every other voice is discouraging. Make it your priority to listen for what God is saying, and let His words guide your steps, restore your relationships, and renew your hope. [44:39]
John 10:27 (ESV)
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Reflection: What practical step can you take today to quiet the competing voices in your life and intentionally listen for God’s direction and encouragement?
Quotes
Those areas where only God sees, where God is molding and shaping and forming us, it helps us be who we are where other people do see us. [00:00:50]
But what we found was that area where only God sees is where he got that faith, and that faith came from his mother. A woman who's hardly even mentioned by name in Scripture. Not one recorded word do we have in Scripture of what she said. However, we see that her faith and what she did for her baby boy then got passed on to her baby boy. And when he grew up, he grew into that man of faith. [00:02:23]
I want us to be a people that can go out in the world for Jesus. I want us to be a people where the Spirit of God moves upon us and flows through us. I want to be a people where, when we pray, we see answers. When we call upon the Lord, the Lord moves. I want to be that kind of people. But for us to be that kind of people, it matters in those areas of our life where only God sees. It matters. [00:03:03]
Those trials make us who we are. Those trials make us the people of God that we're supposed to be. Those trials prepare us for what's still to come. Those trials are important. [00:07:10]
We try to do it on our own efforts. We try to do it with our own strength. We try to do it with our own timing. We try to do it all ourselves. And every single time, we fall flat. We fail. We fail. So what's the solution? The solution is we need to get in God's hands. [00:10:26]
Here's the rub. Here's the problem. We know that's where we're supposed to be. That's where God wants us to be. That's where we want to be. We've got to get there. We know we can't do it on our own strength. We can't do it on our own ability. We can't do it ourselves. So we place ourselves in God's hands. Now we are in God's hands, and everything is perfect. We know the plan. We know the goal. We are in God's hands. We're going to be in perfect timing. All we have to do as an arrow is to get from here to there, and here's what happens. We start going backwards. [00:11:18]
As an arrow, we don't know why. As an arrow, it makes no sense. Lord, if I'm supposed to be going that way, why am I going this way? If I'm in your hands, why in the world am I moving backwards and not forwards? What we find is that for us to move forward, we have to go backwards first, which is tough. [00:12:00]
He says, you know what? I'm going to allow those setbacks in your life. I'm going to allow those failures and those disappointments. Why? Because it prepares you. It makes you stronger. It gets you ready for that right there. We don't like it. [00:13:05]
During this time of his life, David was learning a lot of lessons. He was learning a lot from God and God was teaching him a lot of things. These were long years for David. These were years between the promise and the fulfillment that were suffering years, but they were productive years. God was doing an awful lot in David during that time. [00:14:56]
The reason why God uses these setbacks here and these failures here in this time of our life where only God sees is to prepare us. Because here's the thing. Even if we're right here and we're in this target, it still does not promise us that life is great. We're still not promised that life is smooth, everything is going to be just fine. Because even while we're here, we still have setbacks. Even when we're here, we still have disappointments. But it's here that the world is watching. [00:15:33]
God is the one pulling you back, getting ready to let you go. It's God who's preparing you to thrust you into your destiny. To put you in the very place that he's called you to be. That answered prayer that you're praying, he's praying it. Why? Because you're going to get there. God's going to make sure of it. But first, he's got to get you there. [00:17:04]
If the Lord wants you there, you better believe Satan doesn't. If the Lord wants you there, you better believe the world doesn't. And so that tells me that we're going to have a battle on our hands. That tells me we're going to have struggles. We're going to have setbacks. And you know what? We wonder, God, why didn't you protect me from it? Because God says, I'm using it to get you there. I'm using it to prepare you. [00:25:20]
All I know is we've all suffered loss in some form or fashion. We've suffered loss. And that is what David is going through. And here's the thing. He suffered loss when he had the promise. He suffered loss when he was in God's hands. [00:28:44]
We suffer from the spirit of wimpy. Here's what that means. I want the benefits now. I want the promise now. I want the answered prayer now. I want this now. And God's like, you're not ready. You haven't gone through the preparation yet. You haven't gone through the hard times yet. You haven't gone through the setbacks yet to make you ready for what I have for you. [00:30:40]
There are some things. Look, Jesus even said, look, I don't bring peace. I bring a sword. He's coming to cut some things out of our lives that we think we need and we don't need. That there are some things in our lives that we hold on so dearly because we just, it's so vital to us. And God's like, no, no. It's keeping you from there. It's keeping you from there. [00:32:10]
What we gain instead far outweighs what we've lost. That's the lesson that David was learning here. That's the lesson we need to learn here is that when we get there, we're still going to have loss. But the gain far outweighs what we lose. [00:33:27]
They were so heartbroken that we're told in Scripture, they lost all strength to weep anymore. Listen, I know I've had some hard times and I know I've cried some tears. I don't know if they were crying so hard that I've lost strength to cry anymore. He's going through something right here. He's crying and crying and crying. They've had to go through this heartbreaking experience before God could place them in his destiny. [00:34:37]
He writes this. Man, he's going through it. When he's flooding his bed with tears, but yet he knows the Lord sees every one of those tears. The Lord's right there with him. In Psalm 56, verse 8, it says this. You have kept count of my tossings and put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? See, he keeps those tears. Every tear that you've cried is accounted for. Everything that you've faced is accounted for. God knows. [00:37:04]
Jesus, when he was telling his disciples about his upcoming suffering and crucifixion, in John chapter 16, he says this in verse 20, Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. What does that mean for us? Jesus, he didn't sugarcoat it. He didn't say, look, you're going to go through some hard times, but listen, it won't be that bad. He doesn't sugarcoat this. You're going to go through some hard times. You're going to have sorrow. But here's the thing. If you can look past the sorrow and into the purpose, you can make it. You can make it. [00:38:55]
David learns, turn to the Lord. He will never leave us. He will never forsake us. He's always there. In fact, Scripture tells us he's closer than a brother. That's pretty good. He is right there. [00:42:25]
David decides there's only one voice that he's interested in, and that's God's. That's God's. Can I tell you? Listen, I know we're all here together. We're brothers and sisters, and I absolutely love this. But there are times in our world or wherever we're at, we've got to just drown out the noise and listen for his voice because it's his voice that matters. It's his voice that we need to be listening to because when he says, I don't care what all of them say, I'm saying stand here, or I'm saying go, I'm saying pursue. Whatever God says, that's what I want to do regardless of all the voices. [00:43:38]
God's voice is the one that brings hope. It's God's voice that brings encouragement. It's God's hope that brings strength, or his voice that brings strength. It's God's voice that does all of that. There's no reason for us to stay in a state of hopelessness. Why? Because Jesus is alive. And as long as Jesus is alive, there's hope. As long as we're tuning into him and listening to him, we have hope. And he says, pursue. And I'm telling us, we need to pursue him. Pursue him. And we will find hope. [00:44:39]
When David got his priorities straight, everything else took care of itself as well. That's what it's about. In fact, if you continue reading in the story, they get back everything. Everything they lost, they get it back. Everything that should have, everything here that's loss, sorrows, setbacks, they got it back and they went. They got there. They got there. [00:46:39]
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