Preparation & Position

There's something deeply countercultural about faithfulness. In a world obsessed with viral moments, instant recognition, and measurable impact, the quiet work of showing up day after day rarely makes headlines. Yet when we look at how God builds His church, we discover a surprising pattern: He does His best work in the hidden years.

In Acts 1:21–26, we encounter two men whose names you've probably never heard: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. These weren't celebrity disciples. They never preached a famous sermon recorded in Scripture. They didn't perform miracles that made it into the biblical narrative. Yet when the early church needed to replace Judas among the twelve apostles, these two men were the only ones who qualified.

Think about what that means. These men had been following Jesus through His entire ministry, from His baptism by John to His ascension into heaven. They were there when Jesus fed the five thousand, probably helping distribute the leftover fish and bread (Matthew 14:13–21). They were there when crowds shouted "Hosanna!" on Palm Sunday, laying down branches (Matthew 21:8–9). They witnessed the hard teachings that drove many followers away (John 6:66), yet they stayed.
They were the extras in the background of every Gospel story you know, faithful but unnamed, present but unnoticed.

Until the moment arrived when their faithfulness mattered most.

After Jesus ascended to heaven, the apostles didn't immediately launch into action with strategic planning sessions or growth initiatives. Instead, they gathered in one place and prayed (Acts 1:14). They positioned themselves to listen to the Holy Spirit before doing anything else.

This is faithfulness at ground level: being together, staying attentive to God, and trusting that what comes next isn't something we generate through our own power.

When Peter stood up to address the painful reality of Judas's betrayal, he didn't just react emotionally. He interpreted the moment through Scripture, specifically Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8. These were passages where David cried out to God in the midst of betrayal and injustice. Peter recognized that even this devastating moment was not outside God's knowledge or plan (Acts 1:16, 20).

The qualifications Peter laid out for Judas's replacement were specific: someone who had accompanied them throughout Jesus's entire ministry and could serve as a witness to the resurrection (Acts 1:21–22). This wasn't about talent, charisma, or visibility. The question was simpler and deeper:
Has this person stayed near Jesus?
Has this person been shaped over time?

Consider Abraham Lincoln before he was president. Before he carried a nation through civil war, he spent years as a lawyer in Springfield, Illinois, handling more than 5,000 legal cases. Those long hours of listening, arguing, studying, and weighing both sides of difficult situations weren't glamorous, but they shaped the man who would lead America through its darkest period.

As he left Springfield in 1861, Lincoln acknowledged both his inadequacy and his dependence: "Without the assistance of the divine being, whoever attended [Washington], I cannot succeed. But with that assistance, I cannot fail."

The hidden years had done their work.

The same pattern appears throughout Scripture. God preserves an entire people through one faithful family building an ark (Genesis 6–9). He defeats a giant with a shepherd boy and a sling (1 Samuel 17). He brings salvation through a child born in a stable (Luke 2:1–7). He launches the church with ordinary people who simply stayed close to Jesus (Acts 4:13).

The prophet Zechariah spoke to a discouraged remnant of Jews who had returned from Babylonian exile to rebuild the temple (Ezra 3:10–12). When they laid the foundation, the younger generation celebrated, but the older generation wept, not from joy, but from disappointment. They remembered the glory of Solomon's temple, and this new project seemed pathetically small by comparison.

God's message through Zechariah was clear: "Do not despise the day of small things" (Zechariah 4:10). This work was being accomplished by His Spirit, and what looked insignificant would become something glorious (Zechariah 4:6–10).

We face the same temptation today. When something feels small, slow, or unseen, we worry it doesn't count. We want instant results, instant recognition, instant impact. But spiritual fruit often grows in seasons that are not obvious yet. Much preparation happens before anyone can point to a moment and say, "That's what it was all for."

Jesus Himself said, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much" (Luke 16:10). The small things reveal something essential: our direction, our character, our faithfulness.

Here's where the story gets even more interesting: both Matthias and Justus were qualified. Both were faithful. Both had remained close to Jesus through the hidden years. Two were nominated, but only one was chosen (Acts 1:23–26).

Acts does not portray Justus as a failure. His years were not wasted. He was not second-rate in God's eyes. He simply was not assigned to that particular role at that particular time.

This matters because disappointment in the Christian life is not always about selfish ambition. Sometimes it is the quiet ache of thinking a season would turn out differently. You were willing but not selected. You showed up faithfully, but someone else got the visible role.

Being passed over for one role does not mean being passed over by God. It means God, in His wisdom, assigns different roles to different people at different times.

Matthias stepped into a visible role. Justus continued in a faithful one. Scripture honors both.

In God's kingdom, faithfulness is not measured by visibility, it is measured by obedience.

All this talk about faithfulness could easily become crushing if we are honest about our inconsistencies. We all have places where we did not follow through, could not show up, or did not do what we sensed God calling us to do.

This is where the gospel becomes essential:
Our ability to remain faithful is not what brings us into God's kingdom (Ephesians 2:8–9). If that were the standard, none of us could stand before Him. The message of Scripture is that God comes to us in His faithfulness even when ours is inconsistent at best (2 Timothy 2:13).

Our faithfulness is not about proving ourselves worthy of a role, it is a response to the grace we have already received. Even if you have been passed by, you have not been passed up. Even if you have been unfaithful, you are not beyond the reach of His faithfulness.

Your place in God's story is not secured by your track record.
It is secured by His.

So where is God asking you to remain faithful right now, even without applause? What work are you doing that is not visible yet?

Those hidden years matter more than you know.

If this message encouraged or challenged you, take the next step and watch Ross Enger’s full message, Preparation and Position. In it, he unpacks how God uses seasons of hidden faithfulness to prepare and position us for what is ahead.

It will help you see your current season differently, trust what God is doing beneath the surface, and stay faithful right where you are.