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preserved to be revealed

Hello, friends! Today’s post will be a little different – more reflective, more tender. Recently, I’ve been resting on a word I believe God has whispered to me again and again: preserved.

It’s not a flashy word. It doesn’t promise answers or breakthroughs. The Greek translation of “preserved” is “tēreō”, which translates “to guard” or “to keep”. It sounds slow. Still. Hidden. I believe scripture intricately mentions those preserving seasons so little that we may miss it in the context of a passage, but just enough to gain wisdom from them.

Before we begin with the passage at the heart of this post, I want to take you back to one of my favorite movies of all time, Beauty and the Beast. I’ve loved it for as long as I can remember, and while the story has many memorable moments, there’s one image that I want to highlight: the rose.

If you haven’t seen the movie, this was an enchanted rose that was placed inside a glass dome and hidden away in the West Wing of the castle. The Beast guarded it fiercely – not out of shame, but out of significance. It’s petals marked the timeline of a curse, yes, but more than that, its value demanded protection. That rose was preserved.

I’ve felt like that flower at many points in my life – outcasted, tucked away, uninvited, always floating. And in my current life now? Living alone. Single. The “floater” friend. No idea who my bridesmaids would be one day – or husband lol. Wise but still wondering where I belong.

It’s easy to look at my life and consider the details as “lonely” or “sad” or not quite where I had always dreamt of being. But what if being hidden isn’t rejection? What if being hidden is something more precious than a different life I’ve created on my own? What if it’s preservation?

One of the most powerful images of hiddenness in scripture is in Isaiah 49:1b-3 – “The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother He named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He hid me; He made me a polished arrow; in His quiver He hid me away.”

Friend, did you catch that? God called you before the world had a name for you. He shaped you – your voice, your gifts, your presence. And then He hid you. Not because you weren’t useful, not because He was ashamed, not because you weren’t ready, not because of lack. But because He planned to be glorified in you. And God never lost track of the arrow. He never discarded it. He hid it because it was polished; it had purpose. Just like the rose in the dome, you possess significant value that demands protection.

I finished with finals this past week, and even in my pharmacy studies, God keeps showing me this theme. We talk about preservatives in drug formulations – a chemical agent that protects the active pharmaceutical ingredient from contamination or degradation. Without preservation, the medicine loses its power. Isn’t that us? When God preserves you, He is not delaying your purpose, He is protecting your potency.

There’s a parable in Matthew 25:1-9. I won’t quote the entire story, but Jesus is comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to ten virgins waiting for the groom to lead them into a wedding banquet. In ancient Jewish custom, weddings took place at night, and the bridegroom would arrive unexpectly to begin the celebration. The ten women each carried a lamp to light their way – but only five of them brought extra oil for their lamps in case the groom arrived later than expected. These were the wise virgins. The other five, the foolish, did not bring any oil.

When the groom arrived at midnight, all ten women jumped up to light their lamps, but the foolish ones had run out of oil. They begged for oil from the wise but were told to buy their own. While they were gone, the door was shut, and they missed the celebration.

Verses 3-4, “When the foolish took their lamps, they did not take oil with them; but the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps.” Something so small, yet so impactful. The oil is more than just foresight, it’s a symbol of spiritual preservation – fulfillment in the quiet, unseen hours before the invitation. The wise women were not loved more by the groom, they were just prepared for the delay.

See, if the oil wasn’t stored up before, there would have never been the chance for the miracle. The wise ones didn’t have more favor – they simply prepared. They didn’t hoard oil to be better than the others; they brought oil because they knew preservation matters before presentation. And for me, for you, this is a time of deep storage, not drought. This is not a time we are behind; this is us gathering oil for our miracle.

I also want to highlight verse 10. “When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.” Notice the choice of words, “those who were ready”.

The reason the five women who did not store up oil in preparation were not able to join the celebration is because they had to go out and buy oil. It wasn’t something they could borrow last-minute, it wasn’t something that took little effort to gather. It led to sacrifice. The oil had to be built up personally over time. The oil can represent so many different things in our lives. Holy Spirit, spiritual intimacy, prayer life, personal preparation, wisdom, trusting God’s plans, letting go of control, obedience.

Being in this time of preservation, something I have began to truly rest in is awareness. Not everything in my life goes the way I want, and how sweet is that? The peace from God tastes so much better than the curated what-ifs I created in my mind. This parable teaches that preservation is about being ready before the light hits so you don’t have to sit out when it shows up. Before you’re on the stage. Before the open door. Before the relationship. Before the answered prayer.

Friend, I want to tell you that if you’re in a time where God is keeping you hidden in any aspect of your life, you didn’t “lose” to anyone. You didn’t “fail” by feeling weight of not moving on from something that wasn’t meant for you. You are remaining faithful by staying in the preservation, and those who wait on the Lord’s timing will never be put to shame (Isa. 49:23b). You are not forgettable. It may not seem fair to you, but it is holy. And this time is not a placeholder until something better comes – it’s a fulfillment. It’s not punishment, it’s protection. It’s not passive, it’s worship. It’s sealed for greater glory, not lesser love.

The best part about preservation is that you don’t have to perform the healing or prove you’re different. This is a time to feel broken, alone, betrayed, defeated, in the shadows. You can still wonder why, yet be wildly set apart. This is not silence, it’s a security of stillness. It’s a time of gathering oil.

A pretty big thing I did recently (which is going to sound so silly to some people) is wearing my hair natural. I have naturally curly hair, and since 7th grade, I had straightened it every single day. My hair somehow became such a big part of my identity over the years and I hadn’t even realized. Even if I was putting it in a bun or staying home the entire day, I would straighten it as “security”.

For the first time in my life, I finally started wearing it natural. I’m fasting my flat iron for 30 days, and I’m embracing the way God designed my hair, which is so scary for me. But that’s what preserving does to us. It hints at little aspects in our life we never realized and it calls out our resistance of letting God preserve something more honest in us.

Now my hair is just one example. In my personal quiet time with Him, so much has been revealed to me. What started out as a season I resented became one I’m starting to romanticize. My preservation is for a reason, and so is yours. God doesn’t preserve junk. He doesn’t tuck away what’s forgettable. But He will hide what’s holy.

1 Corinthians 2:9, “What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived – God has prepared these things for those who love Him.”
Friend, you didn’t lose. You aren’t behind. You are not on a waiting list for someone else. You are not being punished. You are not left in silence. You are not abandoned. You are on sacred ground. You are wrapped in security. You are in anointed protection. You are valued. You are in preservation.

Maybe, like me, you get the preservation God has been keeping you in confused with abandonment or forgettfulness. Maybe things of your past – maybe not necessarily sinful things, maybe so – seem more attractive than the time you’re in now. Maybe you had high hopes of a different life and were met with rejection instead.

All of this points back to one truth: God loves you too much to leave you in a season or in the hands of someone who doesn’t recognize a perserved soul when it comes to light. Be the oil-gatherer. Be the flower in the glass dome, protected by it’s guard. You are not being hidden to be forgetton – you are being preserved to be revealed.

Thanks for reading today, friends! Feel free to contact me with any questions, tips, advice, coffee, etc! We’re called to walk with sisters and brothers – not alone!