What Do You Do When God Hides You?

How to make sense of a season you didn't see coming...

There are valley seasons and mountain seasons, in the middle seasons and transitional ones. Yes, there really is a season for everything. And as I get older, Ive found I am experiencing these seasons more and more- of which I am sure there’s still plenty to come.

There was one season, however, that perhaps caught me off guard more than I thought possible: a hidden one. Maybe because everything in my being was looking for the opposite. I’m ambitious, faith-fuelled, goal driven- an impact first kind of guy. And so, you can imagine my dismay when the lights around me began to dim, doors started to close, and what perhaps felt like a secret trapped door opening beneath my feet: I wondered if this darkness would ever cease?

And yet what I’ve discovered in the free fall is this- rather than fighting against the perceived perilous unknown and resisting the sitting down, I’ve found something far more meaningful. I’m learning to embrace the quiet. In the stillness, I’ve found something far deeper- unsearchable riches.

What if it wasn’t actually darkness at all?

What if, rather than a menacing fear, what I encountered when I delved deeper was actually the fear of a vulnerable me?

What if the discomfort was not innately evil, but the sharp edge of a good craftsmen’s scalpel-doing a good work in me? Perhaps it wasn’t rejection after all. In fact, I wasn’t sat in a discharge room, waiting for dismissal. What if it was a development room; a sovereignly crafted space to facilitate an upside down kingdom; that replaces striving for a still satisfaction? What if, in this open place, I was undergoing a much deeper work? I was being hidden.

What do you do when God hides you?

Here are a few things I’ve learned about hidden seasons.

1. Hidden, but not from God.

Chip Ingram, in his book The Art of Survival, states that there are three components to surviving any trial based on the Book of James. ART stands for:

A – Attitude: the mindset you choose to face adversity
R – Resource: the help and strength you can ask for (that could be relational, financial, spiritual resources.)
T – Theology: the beliefs you have about God that guide how you understand and respond to hardship.

What I’ve learnt is this: what you believe about God in a hidden season will either be your anchor or your anguish. It was my theology- what I believed about God that determined my staying power and perseverance.

If I believe that in the same breath I am not only hidden, but also hidden from God, then I will not be able to withstand the trial. It will seem that I am walking through the valley alone, with an absent Father far my personal circumstance.

And yet, even though it may feel like that at times, we all have a very real Father who is close- pressing in to lead us with an intimacy that cannot be discovered on an easier path. His presence has nurtured and sustained me in ways I could not have experienced otherwise.

2. Don’t resist; your fight is with God.

The sooner I embraced that this was the season that God had placed me in, the better for everyone lol. No one wants to be told to “Sit down, you’re on the bench.” But that was the reality of my situation; no matter how hard I tried. Sometimes, God lets us kick and scream, with our wheels spinning in the ground going nowhere, just to help us realise we can generate very little by ourselves. We sound good, but we’re not getting very far.

So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.
When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man
Genesis 32:24-25

Jacob had spent his life labouring and toiling- and yet, in a moment God puts his hip out of joint. I believe it was to remind him that true power does not come from himself. In fact, the situation he was fighting against wasn’t with man, it was with God Himself.

If you’re in a season of frustration, ask yourself: What aspects of His character is God trying to teach me about?

3. Flinted Faces prevent Bitter Places

Isaiah 50:7: “Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.”

In a hidden season, what we set our face toward determines the destination we ultimately arrive at. Having seen firsthand how many people go through transition and come out the other side having become disillusioned, disempassioned or worse- leave their local church, my wife Sophie and I were determined not to allow that to happen to us. Rather than allowing a foothold of hurt to become a stronghold in our lives, we chose to frequently and intentionally set our gaze to whatever is true and whatever is noble.

Countless times, when it was difficult to through, of course we wondered: Will this ever end? Is God done? God, are You finished yet? But to set your face like flint means that especially in those moments, we must find a resolve and unwavering determination that looks past emotional bitterness and endures hardship without becoming hard ourselves.

Time and time again we fought to set our gaze on Jesus AND the good that is all around us. It is so easy to pick on what’s less favourable or the issues surrounding our hidden environments but that only leads to one thing: bitterness.

And so thrusting our eyes on what is good, remembering all that we have received, reminding ourselves that we would not be here if it were not for our Church community. Where else would we go? In the House we have received immeasurable grace, blessing, provision, opportunities the list goes on. We chose not to quickly forget the blessing and testimony of our lives.

This attitude will enable you to withstand and see these seasons through.

4. Hidden opportunities.

Once I trust God in my season, let go of control and begin to rest in His shadow, tension leads to new rhythms of grace. My pace and posture are at ease, and I can now embrace that path of transition.

It is not the final portion of the old- or in fact much to our surprise, the arrival of the new that brings about the most change in our lives. It is in fact the middle. The largest, most vague and obscure portion of our journey often carries the most significant and transformative aspects of change imaginable.

Having embraced our own season of hiding we have been able to buy our first house, enter into a time of rest; and witness God opening doors and providing exposure to opportunities I would have never been able to embrace if He hadn’t hidden me for a season. It’s almost as if He knows what He’s doing, right?

For it is in the obscurity and ambiguity that the greatest surprises emerge, the opportunity for transformation and the greatest potential to shift us, not into simply what is next; but into WHO we need to become, in order to be ready for what is next. This is the opportunity God desires most: a changed and maturer us.

5. All things for Good

‘Sometimes the thing that breaks your heart is the thing that fixes your vision’

Having now come out of this season of hiding, I can reflect on the much deeper work that God has done within me. It was a time of being broken, worked on, reworked, delayed, and put back together again. Perspective becomes a wonderful gift- and now, a more whole, free and more sanctified individual can now stand.

My wording may sound dramatic, and every situation or scenario will be different for those reading this. But one thing remains true; if we hold to the practices and postures outlined above, we will see God work in our lives far more abundantly than we could ask or imagine. Am I still flawed, and still need work? Absolutely. But the views and experiences in the valley now hold indescribable worth.

“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.”
Psalm 13:5-6 ESV

No discipline at the time is pleasant, but in due time- it truly does reap a good reward. When I reflect, the Lord has dealt bountifully with me. Whatever the reason you find yourself where you are, God has you exactly where he desires you to be.

You can’t force it and you can’t quicken it.

The same God that brought you here is the same God that will bring you through.

In fact, He hasn’t brought you this far, to only bring you this far. He has more, and He turns ALL things for good.

If this encouraged or resonated with you, I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment by clicking below: