When God hides

When God hides: the light that shines slowly

The suffering of wanting to reveal Him, and the beauty of finding Him at the right time

Sometimes I ask myself, with fear and sincerity: if God hides, who am I to try to reveal Him?

This question has been with me for years. And every time I think about it, I remember that God Himself, in His Word, presents Himself as the One who hides and reveals:

• Truly you are a God who hides himself
• There is nothing hidden that will not be uncovered, or concealed that will not be known.

Concealing and hiding: two forms of love

Over time, I came to understand something: concealing is not the same as hiding.

• Concealing is veiling, leaving partially covered, like one who protects a precious mystery. The Kingdom of God was concealed in the parables, Christ was concealed in the Scriptures.
• Hiding is taking out of sight, making invisible for a time. God hides so that man will learn to seek.

Both gestures are loving. Both invite us into relationship.

• You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will let myself be found by you, declares the Lord

The suffering of wanting to reveal Him

I confess: this makes me suffer. I have tried to explain, to show, to shout in silence:

“Can't you see? The light is here!”

• For a little while longer the light will be among you. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overtake you, for the one who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.
• It is as if a fire burned in my heart, a fire within me. I am exhausted trying to hold it in; I can no longer!

During the funeral and the mourning after the death of my son, I received many words of comfort. Some stayed with me like echoes, others faded with time. But three, spoken by dear people, marked my heart deeply. I did not understand them at the time. But I never forgot them again.

The first, said with visible embarrassment, was: “Airton, I don't know how… but this event is so that the glory of God may be manifested in your life.”

The second, with the same humility, was: “I don't know how this fits here, Airton, but what comes to my heart is: all things work together for the good of those who love God.”

And the third… came like a breath, almost without explanation: “It's because you can bear it, Airton.”

I kept those three sentences without knowing why. Today I know: they were lights hidden in the dark. They were like seeds thrown into earth that still had no shape. And God, in time, made them begin to shine. Slowly. But shine.

The Kingdom is a process, not an event

Many Christians today wait for a miracle, an event, a burst from heaven. But walking with God is a journey. A process. Eternal.

Like the fable of the goose that laid golden eggs: the impatient farmer killed the goose to try to find all the eggs at once, and was left with nothing.

That is what we do with God: we want everything now. Immediate revelation. But He gives us one egg a day. One treasure at a time.

• The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the full light of day.

Feeling their way, that they may find Him

Paul said to the Greeks in Athens:

• God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps, feeling their way, might find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
• It is God who works in you both to will and to do

Hidden treasures, concealed riches

And the promise of Isaiah resounds as the answer of God Himself:

• I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.

He hides… so that we may seek Him. He reveals Himself… so that we may know Him. And He calls us… by name.

We have this treasure in jars of clay

In the end, we are not the revealers. We are only the vessel:

• But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that this all-surpassing power comes from God and not from us.

God hides in us. And shines, when He wants. That is why I keep walking. In peace. Even when pain visits me.

For I know that the light is shining. Slowly. But it is.