Know God as a God who Hides Himself: He likes to work Secretly rather than Openly

As believers in Christ and kingdom people, we need to know God as a God who hides Himself, for even though He does countless things both outwardly and in our personal life, He Hides Himself, He conceals Himself, and He does things secretly so that we may not even realize that He is doing these things. What a God we have!

Many believers in Christ know God as the almighty One and as the righteous One; many other believers know God as the One full of compassion and grace.

But who knows God as the One who hides Himself? Who knows God as the God who does things in secret, behind the scenes, without being ostentatious, in a concealed way?

We may know Him as our Lord and Savior, we may enjoy His lovingkindness and grace, but we do not see Him nor may we realize that God is a God who hides Himself.

In Isa. 45:15 Isaiah exclaimed, Surely You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.

He did not just say this out of nowhere; rather, he looked at the facts and analyzed the situation, and then he drew this conclusion.

Isaiah didn’t just imagine some things or speak some empty words; his utterance was based on the accumulation of facts.

He saw the people of Israel, he realized what their situation is, and he observed what God did for them and among them.

Even though God was actively helping them and hiddenly working to deliver them and bring them back to Himself, He was still a God who hides Himself.

When we see God’s doings, when we observe what is happening in the world situation, in the church life, and in our personal life, we cannot but exclaim, Oh God, You are a God who hides Himself!

We live a Christian life and a church life under the hand of God, we experience something of Christ, and many things are happening to us and around us; in all these things, though God is so real to us, He is also hidden.

If we have spiritual insight when we look at the world situation, the situation in the church life, and our own personal situation, we realize that God works ceaselessly, yet He hides Himself.

Even though God does many things for us and around us, yet we cannot see Him, nor does He manifest Himself visibly.

He did many things for His people Israel, but they were ignorant who was the doer of all these things.

May we be unveiled by the Lord to see that our God is a God who hides Himself.

May we know Him as such a One in our life and in the church life.

We need to Know God as the God who hides Himself: He does Many things, yet He Conceals Himself

God does countless things among us today, both in our personal life and in the lives of the saints, yet He conceals Himself.

We may want God to show Himself, to manifest what He is doing, and to see what He does and why He does it, but God likes concealment.

We like display, but He likes to hide Himself. We cannot be content without outward manifestations, but God does not crave them.

We see this, especially in the example of Elijah, who was a man of like feeling with us (James 5:17).

God was with him on Mount Carmel when the fire came down on the offering and everyone realized that Jehovah is the true God.

But when God withheld His manifest presence, Elijah could not bear it; he became depressed and hid in a cave in the mountains.

The story in 1 Kings 19:9-18 is very interesting and applicable to our Christian life today.

God knew that Elijah wanted Him to be a God who would manifest Himself; he had not realized that God is a God who hides Himself.

So God asked him, What are you doing here, Elijah? And Elijah told Him that everyone is seeking to take his life because he is on God’s side.

God knew Elijah’s difficulty; he wanted God to manifest Himself to him.

So God gave him a demonstration; there arose a great wind, and then an earthquake followed, and then there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the wind, in the earthquake, or in the fire.

Finally, there came a gentle, quiet voice, and the Lord was in that (v. 12).

We may want God to manifest Himself as a mighty wind, as a great earthquake, or as a consuming fire, but this is not where He is; He is a God who hides Himself, and He is a gentle, quiet voice right within us as believers in Christ.

In that gentle and quiet voice, He leads us, He is with us, and He does everything in us and for us.

God responded to Elijah and told him that He had preserved for Himself seven thousand persons who had not bowed the knee to Baal.

God was so hidden that His activity was not made known to Elijah until the right time.

Elijah said to God that he was the only faithful one left, but God very gently answered Elijah by saying that He had reserved for Himself seven thousand men who had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18; cf. Rom. 11:2-5).

Elijah had reckoned the situation only with what he could see, but God is a God who hides Himself; He had secretly reserved for Himself seven thousand overcomers who had not bowed the knee to Baal; God’s activity was so hidden that not even the prophet Elijah knew anything about it.

We need to know God as a God who hides Himself.

Today in the New Testament age, God speaks to His people not by thundering or by a consuming fire but gently and quietly, by means of the inner anointing (1 John 2:27).

This is how He speaks to us; He hides Himself, and He speaks to us inwardly.

The anointing is so faint, so quiet, that sometimes it is indiscernible from our own feelings or thoughts.

Many times there is too much noise around us and there is much trouble within us, and the noise without and within covers the Lord’s inner speaking.

There’s a flood of thoughts which we cannot control, there are burdens that press us, and we may even be so busy with the things of the Lord and regarding the church; in the midst of all this, we need to know God as a God who hides Himself.

Many times we need to put down all things and just contact the Lord to know Him who hides Himself.

Like the Psalmists said in Psa. 62, our soul needs to wait in silence before the Lord; it’s not just our mouth that needs to be silent but our soul.

We need to ask the Lord to help us quiet down our soul so that we may know Him as the God who hides Himself.

When we calm and quiet down our soul (Psa. 131:2), we can know the Lord as the One who hides Himself. When we are still, we can know that He is God (Psa. 46:10).

Our God is God, yet He is a God who hides Himself.

We may want Him to do this or that for us, and we may ask Him to manifest Himself in this or that situation, but He hides Himself. May we know Him as such a One today.

Lord Jesus, we love You and we open to You. We want to know God as a God who hides Himself. Save us from craving the outward manifestation of God. May we learn to quiet down our soul and calm ourselves down so that we may know God as the One who hides Himself. Amen, Lord, we turn our heart to You. Grant us to quiet down our soul and have rest in our heart so that we may see You and know You. We want to follow the teaching of the inner anointing, the small and quiet voice in our spirit which conveys what is in Your heart for us. Oh Lord, we admit that we know You as the almighty One and the One who is full of grace and lovingkindness, but we still do not know You that much as the One who hides Himself! May we know You in this way. May we linger before You and be still so that we know that You are God. We open to You, dear Lord: quiet down our thoughts, calm down our emotions, and subdue our will, so that we may know You as the God who hides Himself!

God Likes to Work Secretly rather than Openly: He is a God who Hides Himself

What the Bible reveals about God is that He has the kind of temperament that dislikes ostentation; God likes to work secretly rather than openly, for He is a God who hides Himself (Matt. 17:1-9; John 20:14-17; Luke 24:13-37; John 20:24-29; Isa. 39:2-8).

God doesn’t like open display, pretentious display for others to see and for all attention to be on Him; He is not like that.

For example, after the Lord Jesus transfigured Himself on the mountain before three of His disciples, He asked them not to mention this to others until He was resurrected. This is His temperament.

On the day of His resurrection, He sees Mary and comes to her, yet He is hidden and she does not realize it is the Lord until later. He seemed to be the gardener to her.

The Lord is with us today, but we are totally unconscious of His presence.

He went with the two disciples down to Emmaus, quite a long way, and He joined them in their journey.

They were distraught and sad, yet the Lord joined them and opened the Scriptures to them concerning Himself.

He did not reveal Himself to them right away; He simply opened the Scriptures and opened their mind, and they realized it was the Lord right at the end.

Many times the Lord joins in our journey downward and away from the saints and from the church life, and He speaks to us in a gentle way, opening the Scriptures to us and even opening our understanding until we realize that it is the Lord.

We may be sad and discouraged, but the Lord joins in with our weakness and goes along with us, all the while revealing something of Himself to us. What a wonderful Lord He is!

1 Pet. 1:8 further says, Whom having not seen, you love; into whom though not seeing Him at present, yet believing, you exult with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.

We love Him, though we have never seen Him, and we rejoice with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.

It is truly a wonder and a mystery that we believers in Christ love One whom we have never seen!

Since the Lord’s resurrection, the chief discipline for us, His followers, has come along the line of knowing God as a God who hides Himself.

He trains us every day to live in His invisible presence; He may reveal Himself to us here and there, but most times He is with us without us realizing it or sensing His presence.

This divine constitution of being a God who hides Himself constitutes a real trial to us, even a test to us.

Everything in God’s economy with Christ as its centrality and universality is not in the seen realm but in the unseen atmosphere and realm of faith (2 Cor. 4:13, 16-18; 5:7; Heb. 11:1; Eph. 3:17a; 1 Tim. 1:4b).

Everything of God is hidden and concealed, in the realm of faith in our spirit. God is so hidden that He created the universe and then hid Himself in it, and many people may not even see that God created all things.

There is an entire book in the Bible that does not mention the name of God at all; it is the book of Esther.

Though God is not mentioned, this book clearly shows that God is working behind the scenes, in a hidden way, to care for His people.

The very God who chose Israel as His elect became a hidden God to take care of them secretly and to save them openly while acting in secrecy during their captivity among the Gentile nations.

May we know God as a God who hides Himself.

May we enjoy Him and partake of Him in our spirit, and may we trust in Him that He is there, in secret, working out all things for our good, for us to be conformed to the image of Christ.

God is our refuge and strength, and we can turn to Him in our distress to find Him (Psa. 46:1).

Even though the waters of the sea roar and foam, even though the mountains shake at its swelling, there is a river that gladdens the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High; God is in the midst of her, and she will not be moved (vv. 3-6).

God helps us in the morning, even though everything around us seems to be falling apart, and He supplies us throughout the day with a river of water of life.

How we thank the Lord that He operates in secret and He is a God who hides Himself!

Even though some among us may have left the church life, even some who have been raised in the church life from a young age, we believe that the God who hides Himself operates in secret to recover them and bring them back to the enjoyment of Himself.

We may pray for them, and it seems that the more we pray, the worse their situation becomes.

It seems that the more we pray for some to return to the Lord, the farther they run.

But years later, they return to the Lord; though they run here and there, the Lord is right there with them, and He draws them back (see Psa. 139).

May we live before the Lord as such a One and may we know Him as the God who hides Himself.

Lord Jesus, may we realize that You are a God who hides Himself. May we realize that You like to work secretly rather than openly. Oh Lord, though we have never seen You, we love You! Though we do not see You at present, we believe into You and exult with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory! What a wonder and what a mystery that we believers in Christ believe into One and love One whom we have never seen! Amen, Lord, may we know You as the God who hides Himself and may we trust that You are always operating. May we not desire to see more of Your outward acts but rather, trust in You as the One who hides Himself and does things in secret. Hallelujah, everything of God’s economy with Christ as its centrality and universality is not in the seen realm but in the unseen atmosphere and realm of faith! Thank You, Lord, for being with us where we are to do all things for us and in us, even though we may not see it! We love You as the One who hides Himself! We trust in You and we give ourselves to You!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ricky Acosta in the message for this week, and portions from, A God who Hides Himself (booklet), by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living in the Reality of the Kingdom of God (2024 October ITERO), week 2, Living the Kingdom Life by Living a Hidden Life.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Why We Need a Hidden Life with the Lord Jesus, via, Bibles for America blog.
  – Msg 03 – A God Who Hides Himself the Hidden God – a message via, Heavenly Foods.
  – The Lord’s prayer – the greatest martyr, article via, Conversant Faith.
  – Nicodemus and the Pharisees, a portion from, Finding Christ by the Living Star, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
  – A Tamarisk Tree and the Eternal God, via, Living to Him.
  – The central work of God, article by Ron Kangas in, Affirmation and Critique.
  – How to Enjoy the Hidden Christ in Your Spirit, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Christ Himself as the All-inclusive Life-giving Spirit Being the Reality and Content of the New Covenant Ministry and the Constitution of the New Covenant Ministers, a message by brother Ed via, Heavenly Foods.
  – Christ our Life will be Manifested in Glory, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Portions on, a God who hides Himself via, Lord’s Move to Asia.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform: / He plants His footsteps in the sea, / And rides upon the storm. / Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, / But trust Him for His grace; / Behind a frowning providence / He hides a smiling face. (Hymns #675 stanzas 1 and 4)
  – Whom having not seen, you love, you love; / Into whom though not seeing Him at present, / yet believing; / Whom having not seen, you love, you love; / Into whom though not seeing Him at present, / yet believing, / You exult with joy / That is unspeakable / And full of glory. / You exult with joy / That is unspeakable / And full of glory. / First Peter 1:8. (Scripture song)
  – Lord, in Thy presence silent I would be, / That in the inmost I to Thee may come; / I would not in my own way pray to Thee, / But let Thy prayer in me my prayer become. / It seems Thou art in heaven hearing me, / But right within my spirit Thou dost dwell; / It seems that I am praying unto Thee, / But really from Thyself the prayers do well. (Hymns #764 stanzas 1-2)