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God’s Hidden Presence

Hiddeness of God

The Danish theologian and philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard once told a story of a king who fell in love with a poor maiden, but he realized that there was a problem. How would he reveal his love to her? He could command her to be his queen. But that would not be an ideal way to earn her love. Then he thought perhaps he could give her royal gifts. But that too is problematic because how would he ever know that she loved him for himself despite the gifts? Finally, he came up with a solution. He took off his crown, relinquished his scepter, laid aside his royal robes, and took upon himself the life of a peasant. He became as ragged as the one he loved so that he could be with her forever.[1] 

 

This story tells of the distance between the king and the maiden and how the king overcame their distance. Through sin, we have alienated ourselves from God and have created a chasm between us and him, and so like the king, God overcame this distance through Jesus Christ. Paul writes in Philippians 2:6–7,

 

[Jesus], being in very nature God,    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;rather, he made himself nothing    by taking the very nature of a servant,    being made in human likeness.

 

Even though God has taken care of the distance between us, have you ever felt forsaken by God in your struggles? By forsaken, I mean a deep feeling of abandonment where you wonder whether God even hears your prayers.

 

Job and God’s Hidden Presence (Job 23:1–9; 16–17)

Though we feel forsaken at times, God's love remains constant and present, even when hidden. Job knew only too well the feeling of being forsaken, that God’s presence was no longer with him. Job is in a state of dire straits, he has lost all his wealth, his children have died, and he is suffering from a serious disease. Yet, he is a righteous man. Tired of arguing his case with his friends, he begins to express his longing to approach God directly, because of the terrible feeling of distance been God and himself. Job wishes to bring his case before God. He believes that if he made his argument to God, then God would pay attention to him and deliver him from his suffering and misfortune.

 

However, Job laments that he still cannot find God. If he goes to the east, God is not there, and neither would he find him in the west. Even if God is in the north, he cannot see him, and neither can he see him at work in the south. In other words, Job cannot see or experience God. Job is overwhelmed by the feeling that God is entirely absent from this world.

 

Yet, on the other hand, the majesty of God’s presence terrifies him, even though he is relieved to know that God knows where to find him, despite the darkness, the confusion, and the hiddenness of God that Job might feel. While he is fearful of the unknown, and of actually meeting God face to face, he knows that he is in the hands of God, and that comforts him.

 

David and God’s Hidden Presence (Psalm 22:1–2)

Job’s struggle is familiar to many of us. Like Job, we often search for God in our pain and feel his absence. His experience echoes in many other parts of Scripture, such as in King David’s lament in Psalm 22 where David too feels as if God has forsaken him. In verse 1 he cries out, אֵלִ֣י אֵ֭לִי לָמָ֣ה עֲזַבְתָּ֑נִי, meaning, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These words were written in Hebrew, and you may have heard about how Jesus cried out in Aramaic, the same lament, Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? (Matthew 27:46).

 

Psalm 22 describes David’s profound anguish. He is mocked and attacked by evil people from all sides. David receives no relief from his pain, and neither does he have an answer to his prayers. The Psalmist faces the horrifying possibility that God may have actually forsaken him. This is a powerful Psalm that also points to Jesus Christ and his very human experience of feeling utterly distant from God his Father, and that God has abandoned him. Even though God’s love and presence are constant, we too have times when we feel forsaken, or as some theologians call it, we experience the “hiddenness of God,” or “God’s Hidden Presence.”

 

Yet, as we reflect on this Psalm, especially for our own lives, God’s felt absence is not the same as his actual absence. And I think this is what is happening here, both David and Jesus felt a jarring absence of God, but in reality, he was right there with them. People have often said that Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” because God the Father had indeed forsaken him because he could not look upon his Son who had carried the weight of the world’s sin on his shoulders. I suspect that the opposite was true, that the Father was right there with his Son in a very intimate manner, but because of his suffering and bearing the sin of the world, he felt alienated from his Father.

 

Hope Beyond Despair (Psalm 22:4-15)

Psalm 22 and the Gospel of Matthew share three additional parallels: (1) all those who passed by in Psalm 22 and in the account of Jesus’s crucifixion mocked and wagged their heads (Psalm 22:7 and Matthew 27:39), (2) in both accounts, the bystanders shout out, “if he trusts in God, let him rescue him” (Psalm 22:8 and Matthew 27:43), and (3) some of those present divided the garments among themselves by casting lots, that’s in Psalm 22 and after Christ had been crucified (Psalm 22:18 and Matthew 27:35).

 

The imagery in Psalm 22 is striking. Verse 6 reads, “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.” Overcome by the scorn and contempt of others towards him, David feels a deep sense of shame and guilt, and perhaps questions whether he is worthy of God’s help and intervention, which is why he refers to himself, not as a man, but as a worm, one of the lowest life forms.

 

In verses 12–13, the Psalmist describes the tormentors as strong bulls of Bashan encircling him. And then we have an image of a roaring lion. The NIV translation gives us the idea of several roaring lions opening their mouths ready for attack, however, the original Hebrew reads more like “They open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.” (ESV). “They” refers to those tormenting David, and the “lion” is used as a simile comparing these people to a ravening lion. St. Peter uses the same simile, but this time refers to the devil as a roaring lion, he writes, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8; NIV). The roaring lion is of course the arch enemy behind all enemies of those who are faithful to Jesus Christ.


It's not surprising then that the author uses the phrases, “I am poured out like water,” and “My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me” (Psalm 22:14) to describe his psychological terror and feeling of helplessness before these frightening and ominous enemies. He literally felt as if his insides were melting within him! The desperate condition of this suffering and torment is described further by his dry mouth and being left alone helpless in the dirt to die (v. 15).

 

While I don’t claim to have endured the kind of suffering that either Job or King David endured, if I’m honest, I have felt forsaken by God at times. My wife, Catherine fell pregnant for the third time while we were working in Kenya as missionaries. After about nine weeks we went for her first pregnancy scan. She had miscarried twice before, but this time we were hopeful, everything seemed to be in order. The nurse began scanning. There, the little one was on the screen. Our joy and excitement lasted only for a moment. The doctor looked down and shook her head, “Pole sana, hakuna mpigo wa moyo,” meaning, “I am very sorry, there is no heartbeat.” Pain and disappointment filled our hearts.[2] Although we felt forsaken at that time, when we look back, God’s love remained constant and present, even when hidden. Despite our desperation, our fear, and our anguish, God responds and rescues those who put their faith in the Lord by giving us his only begotten Son.

 

The Great High Priest and Throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:14–16)

This Son of God is also our great high priest (Hebrews 4:14–16). This high priest, Jesus, identifies with you and I because he has shared our human experiences and has endured temptation and suffering. He suffered temptation and yet was without sin, and for this reason, he truly is our high priest. Jesus’s empathy with our weaknesses is truly astonishing and unexpected. I find it comforting that no matter what temptations I face, Jesus has probably faced them too, and while he felt the lure of sin, he overcame his temptations.

 

The great high priest opens the way for us to approach God’s throne of grace. None compares to the exalted and glorious throne of God. Jesus’s throne is not of this world, it’s a heavenly one, from which this priestly king distributes grace and mercy. This compassionate and sinless King invites us to draw near and approach God’s throne. Christ Jesus was our atoning sacrifice and now he invites all of us into his divine and glorious presence. He encourages us to approach with confidence, not based on our holiness, for we are but sinners, but because of Jesus’s holiness which he imparts to us through his mercy. He invites us to come and enter his sanctuary. This means that you and I have the privilege of a personal relationship with God and that we can talk to him honestly and plainly. Jesus the High Priest offers us forgiveness of sins, a cleansing of shame and guilt, and strength to resist temptation (Hebrews 4:16).

 

The wonder of it all is that this very same priestly king, is the one that cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” he has felt the hiddenness of God, the pain of isolation, and so he is merciful towards us because he has shared in our suffering.


Concluding Thoughts

I invite you to reflect on your experiences when you may have felt forsaken by God, perhaps in suffering, loss, or hardship, and you may discover that he was always with you through it all. Perhaps you find yourself in that place now. I encourage you to open your life to a trusted friend or a priest and allow them to pray for you. And even when it may be difficult, pray to Jesus and be honest with him in your prayers, knowing that he is right there with you, even though you might not feel him. Feeling forsaken at times is common among believers, and yet God’s love remains constant and present. Be assured that none of your emotions will take God by surprise, even when your pain is so raw to talk about that it’s difficult to pray. In moments like these, God is closest to you, he has not left you, and he will never forsake you, for his fatherly love endures forever.

 

Prayer: The Valley of Vision

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,

Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,

where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.


Let me learn by paradox

that the way down is the way up,

that to be low is to be high,

that the broken heart is the healed heart,

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

that to have nothing is to possess all,

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

that to give is to receive,

that the valley is the place of vision.


Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,

deepest wells,

and the deeper the wells the brighter

Thy stars shine;


Let me find Thy light in my darkness,

Thy life in my death,

Thy joy in my sorrow,

Thy grace in my sin,

Thy riches in my poverty

Thy glory in my valley.[3]

 

 

Notes:

*Image by Josh Scorenson freely available from https://www.pexels.com/photo/body-of-water-1154510/

**I employed the use of Gemini, a Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) platform, to critique the blog and provide ideas for improvement, along with ideas for improving transitions between themes.


[1] Ortlund, Gavin. 2024. “Divine Hiddennes: A Christian Response.” YouTube video, 7:32. Truth Unites. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO4-cSNIUAg.

[2] Falconer, Robert. 2023. Embodied Afterlife: The Hope of an Immediate Resurrection. St Francis Bay: Stockbridge Books, p. 80.

[3] Bennett, Arthur (ed.). 1975. The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, pp. xxiv-xxv.

4 Comments


Guest
Oct 15, 2024

Thank you Dr Falconer, This weekend at two different teaching events at our church I heard two understandings of Jesus' words expressing forsakenness on the cross. The first that Jesus was not forsaken by his Father during his crucifixion but only felt forsaken, The second talking of the horror of drinking God's cup of wrath as including being temporarily forsaken as Jesus took the punishment for our sins. The second view included an understanding that the agony Jesus suffered in the Garden the night before was caused by this imminent separation. I know you have written much about the atoning sacrifice of our Lord and would be interested if you felt this variance in understanding was significant for our having…

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Robert Falconer
Robert Falconer
Oct 16, 2024
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Great question! Two comments: (1) the wages of since is certainly separation from God, but death likely also refers to physical death. Christ died not only to pay that price but ultimately to conquer death. (2) The result of a crime (e.g. separation from God) is different from the penalty of the crime, which means that Jesus did not necessarily need to suffer separation from God to pay the ransom, and (3) the idea of Jesus Christ being separated from God has serious theological challenges especially as it pertains to the Trinity, which suggests that there would have been a moment that God abandoned himself in the second person of the Godhead and thus there would have been a time…

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Mandla Luphondvo
Mandla Luphondvo
Oct 13, 2024

The article is well-written and theologically rich as it is grounded in the teachings of the Bible.


Thank you for sharing, Dr Falconer.

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Robert Falconer
Robert Falconer
Oct 13, 2024
Replying to

Thank you, Mandla!

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