Hiding His Face To Attend To Our Needs
Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV)
‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’
I was feeding our little 4-month old son the other day when his daddy sat down and joined us on the couch. Rowan loves his dad (Nathan) more than anything and was instantly distracted, wanting to smile at him instead of eat. It was cute but we tried to redirect him to finish his feed. He’d go back to it for a minute only to throw around his head again looking for the familiar face and giving him that big gummy grin of his. This went on for a while until finally, Nathan had to hold his hand in front of Rowan’s eyes so that when he looked, he couldn’t see the face he was after. Rowan was frustrated, searching to no avail but he did manage to turn his attention back to eating, getting the nutrients he needed. What little Rowan didn’t realise as he was looking around, was that although he thought he couldn’t see his dad, he actually could the whole time, just not the part he was looking for.
How often do we frantically search for the part of God we are comfortable with, the aspect of his character that we like to smile at, meanwhile neglecting what he’s trying to feed us. Maybe God needs to hold his hand up to us sometimes to redirect our attention to the lessons he’s revealing. God’s ways are above ours and sometimes that means he uses methods of teaching us that don’t initially look like our perception of God. I want to encourage you to be aware of the different aspects of God, especially when it seems that he’s hiding his face from you and recognise that he might just be giving you exactly what you need.
Prayer: Father, please help us recognise you in new ways when it seems as though you are far from us. Remind us that you are always near and we can always call on you for help. Reveal to us your love in giving us what we need and not always what we want.