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He spent years at a piano that made no sound.

Liu Shikun, one of China’s great pianists, imprisoned without an instrument.

So he practised on a wooden board. Silently. From memory.

Everyone assumed the silence would ruin him.

It deepened him instead. The unseen years did the forming.

Where nobody is watching is where God is still working.

This is 1 of 6 illustrations in this week's free pack → preachready.com

A concert pianist, imprisoned for years with no piano — so he practised on a wooden board, silently, from memory.

When he finally played again, the silence had not ruined him. It had deepened him.

The years nobody watches are the years that form you.

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There is a story from this week that has stayed with us. Liu Shikun was one of China’s celebrated pianists when he was imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution, and he spent those years without an instrument of any kind.

So he practised on a wooden board, silently, from memory. When he was finally free to play again, his music had not decayed. It had deepened.

Maybe you are in a season where your faithfulness feels invisible. It is not wasted. The unseen years may be doing the deepest work. Where might God be quietly forming you right now?

He practised for years on a piano that made no sound.

Liu Shikun was one of China’s celebrated pianists when the Cultural Revolution put him in prison. No keyboard, no strings, nothing that made a sound. So he rehearsed on a wooden board, silently, from memory.

When he finally performed again, everyone expected the years to have taken their toll. Instead, something in his playing had deepened. The seasons nobody saw turned out to be the ones that formed him.

Some of you are in a stretch like that right now, faithful in something no one is watching.

What has a hidden season taught you that a public one never could?