THE HIDDEN MAN

"For the Lord does not see as man sees;for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV) 

Who are you? You have a body and a mind, but those are not primarily you. The Word teaches that you have a "hidden man"—your spirit—and that's who you really are. What does that mean?

I remember being invited to speak at a large Christian conference in another country. In the greenroom between sessions, it was wonderful to meet the other speakers, many of whom I recognized and respected.

Then I started chatting with this one man I hadn't met before. He didn't look anything like a leader. In fact, he was socially awkward and sounded for all the world like Elmer Fudd, the little bald fellow from the Bugs Bunny cartoons. I thought to myself, "I need to go hear his session. Either they made a big mistake inviting him or this guy is a hidden gem."

Later when he got up on stage, he simply opened his Bible and began to teach God's Word. The whole place went electric as something came out of this man that nobody had noticed in the greenroom. It was coming out of the hidden man where the presence of God was alive within him. Power flowed out of his spirit and touched that audience in a remarkable way.

You don't need to worry about what people think about the physical you. It doesn't matter if you were born with legs too short and arms too long. It's not about your race, political affiliation or how gifted you are. You're a being with three parts: body, soul and spirit. It's your spirit that's the real you—and that's where Holy Spirit dwells!