JULY 24

WHEN GOD HIDES HIS FACE

“For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid My face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.” (Isa. 54:7-8)

One thing needs to be clearly kept in the foreground of our thinking, it is the FACT that “lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matt. 28:20). For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” (Heb. 13:5-6). Many more verses could be given, but these two are sufficient to emphasize the fact that He is with us, always will be, and in no way will fail us, nor forsake us.

How then do we harmonize these verses with the passage used for our opening scripture, that for a small moment He hath hidden His face from us? It is no contradiction! But it does remain for us to rightly divide the Word of Truth, and to discern the various dimensions and realms of His inworkings, so that we do not confuse “OUTWARD AWARENESS” with His ‘INNER SUSTAINING.”

He hid His face – He went away,
To test and prove if I’d obey,
To walk by faith, and live by hope,
Till He redemption’s door doth ope.

“Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive Him: on the lift hand, where He doth work, but I cannot behold Him: He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I cannot see Him: but He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23: 8-10).

How can I know Him better if I cannot even find Him? Surely there is neither rhyme nor reason to all this, is there? Yes, Divine wisdom is revealed through the uniqueness of this part of our processing, so that we learn to TRUST Him even when not outwardly conscious of His presence.