Have you ever frantically cleaned your house before guests arrived, shoving everything into closets and drawers? A few years ago, my wife and I had just moved into our new home in Lake Nona when friends texted they were "in the neighborhood" and wanted to see the house. While I thought everything looked fine, my wife went into emergency mode.

I found myself grabbing things and shoving them into closets, hoping our guests wouldn't want a tour that included opening doors. At one point, I took a bunch of small items – screws, light bulbs, and hardware for mounting our TV – and tossed them in a decorative jar. My wife made me promise it wouldn't stay there for five years.

This morning, five years later, I looked at that jar still sitting on our dresser, exactly where I put it. Inside were the same light bulbs and screws I needed, things I've actually bought replacements for because I couldn't find them. Everything I needed was hidden in plain sight.

The Treasure Within Ordinary Vessels

This experience perfectly illustrates what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:7: "We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our power is from God, not from ourselves" (NLT).

Paul reveals a profound truth: God places His greatest treasures in the most unsuspecting places. If I were designing the world, I might put the most important things in the shiniest packages, like how the best treasures in video games are in the most elaborate chests. But God's kingdom operates differently.

The divine purpose, the glory of God, the full knowledge of Jesus, your destiny, the impact you're meant to have on the world – all this world-changing essence rests within these ordinary "jars of clay" that are our lives.

Understanding the Enemy's Attack on Potential

To fully grasp why God works this way, we need to understand something about our adversary. The enemy isn't omniscient.  He doesn't know everything as God does. According to Jeremiah, God says, "I know the plans I have for you, plans for hope in a future." Only God sees the end from the beginning.

The enemy doesn't know your playbook or what God has mapped out for you. So what strategy does he employ? He attacks potential.

Since the enemy can't see which specific seed will produce the greatest harvest, he tries to devour all potential before it becomes fruitful. This explains why new growth in your life faces such resistance. The enemy wants to discourage you in the early stages so you never reach the authority of the later stages.

We see this pattern throughout scripture:

• In Egypt, when whispers of a deliverer arose, Pharaoh attacked all Hebrew babies
• In Bethlehem, when prophecies of a king circulated, Herod ordered the killing of all children under two
• Under Roman oppression, Christians faced horrific persecution

The enemy is likened to locusts that devour crops before they become fruitful. He doesn't know which specific seed will produce the greatest harvest, so he attacks all potential.

God's Strategy: Purpose Hidden in Obscurity

God's answer to this is brilliant, though not always comfortable: He hides purpose in obscurity.

God protects His promises by hiding them in plain sight.

You might be wishing for visibility and recognition, wondering why your moment hasn't come. What you don't realize is how much love God is showing by protecting you in obscurity. He's keeping you under wraps not because He's punishing you, but because He's protecting you. The enemy wants to devour your potential, but God is developing it in secret.

Let's look at how this played out in scripture:

Moses in Egypt: The enemy hunted for a military leader with physical strength, but God hid His deliverer in a basket floating down the river. Moses grew up right under Pharaoh's nose, in the palace, eating Pharaoh's food, hidden in plain sight until the appointed time.

Jesus in Bethlehem: When Herod's soldiers went home to home killing babies, the promised King wasn't in a home at all. He was born in a stable – nowhere fit for royalty, but perfect for God's protection plan.

Jesus under Roman rule: For thirty years, while the enemy looked for a military leader or charismatic politician, Jesus swung a hammer as a carpenter. For three decades, He did nothing that would draw attention to Himself. If Jesus had to wait thirty years before His public ministry began, how long do you think you might need to wait?

The God who fashioned magnificent trees hid them in tiny seeds. The marriage of your dreams, the ministry impact you long for, the business success you're pursuing, all of it may be hidden in obscurity right now so it can be properly developed.

Your Role: Preserving Purpose Through Process

If God's strategy is to hide purpose in obscurity, and the enemy's strategy is to attack potential, what's your role?

To preserve God's purpose through process.

Many of us want God to work on our timeline, but God doesn't work on your calendarHe works on your character. He's developing you for His purposes on His timeline.

This applies to every area of life:

Your health journey: One day at the gym won't transform your body. It takes months of discipline, discomfort, and steadiness before someone notices the change.

Your marriage: You can't snap your fingers and fix relationship issues. It requires time, communication, intentionality, and consistent love before your family reflects the harmony you desire.

Your faith: The platform you desire to influence others comes from being on your knees in private, hungering after God's presence, falling in love with Jesus daily.

Your parenting: Perhaps we should rename it "processhood" instead of parenthood. Your children are seeds that will grow into trees. Your job isn't to force immediate perfection but to cultivate, protect, and allow the process to happen.

When Suffering Cracks the Jar

In 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, Paul writes: "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies" (NLT).

I never want pain or difficulty for anyone senselessly, but life will bring challenges. Here's the key insight: when believers go through pain while protecting God's promise and engaging in His process, pain doesn't defeat us, it elevates God's purpose.

There will be no wasted suffering for those who lean into God's purposes. Even your greatest tragedy can become a platform for His glory.

The enemy thinks suffering will break you, but it won't break you, it will crack you. And when the jar cracks open, the light that's been hidden inside you shines through. You're not broken; you're open to the purposes of God.

Don't Rush God's Timeline

Moses was in the palace. Jesus was in the streets. And you are in the center of your purpose, even if you can't see it yet.

Don't give up. Don't lose heart. If you're doubting God's timing because the suffering feels too great, remember: it's not breaking you,it's opening you. Hidden in plain sight has been what the world has needed all along.

You're trying to rush it: "Child, why don't you just behave how I want?" "Spouse, why don't you treat me better?" "Business, why don't you just take off?" Trust the timing of God. As Ecclesiastes 3:11 reminds us: "He makes everything beautiful in its time."

If you had everything on your timetable, it wouldn't be fully developed. God wants fruitfulness for your life. He's always on time. Trust His process. Trust His timing.

The Treasure Has a Name

You might be wondering what treasure is hidden inside your ordinary life. That treasure has a name, and it is Jesus.

The same Jesus who rose from the dead rests in you. The same Jesus who calmed the storm lives in you. The same Jesus who created heaven and earth now makes His home in you.

You might disqualify yourself because your "jar" doesn't look impressive enough. But God qualifies you because the treasure inside is good. You have Christ within. He is good treasure. He is worthy.

It's time to surrender to the process. God is good at what He does.