When God ‘hides his face’ he is in fact involved so intimately in our life that we do not recognize him; he is hidden behind his own intimacy.

There are two main reasons given in scripture for God to hide his face, or to withhold the feeling of happiness and safety within his presence, from one of his children.

First, God allows believers to go through trials for the sake of spiritual refinement. Christ himself felt that his father had forsaken him, and he was God himself! And that, for our sake. So how much more should we expect to experience such abandonment in our daily Christian walk if we truly obey Christ’s command to take up our cross and follow him. Many Christians far more mature than I have shared how although they would never have prayed for a particular trial to enter into their life, in retrospect, they would never have it any other way. For the trial caused them to grow and mature, as is explained in James 1. If God did not hide his face from us in this manner, we would not grow and, being the sinful people that we are, we would stray from prayer and the word. So in this case God is certainly drawing closer to his child in the trial.

The second reason that God would hide his face is to draw a straying believer back to himself. This is referred to as discipline; Hebrews 12:5 quotes: My son, do not regard the discipline of the Lord lightly, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.

In this case God disciplines (as in ‘teaches discipline,’ not ‘punish’) because he is loving. Often this discipline is simply in the form of the absence of happiness, or depression.

The one who is not cultivating a healthy relationship with Christ is most comfortable at arm’s length from him. We are more at ease if God does not confront us about our sin and we live with our homemade god of unconditional favor. So when God draws near, it is inevitable that the straying believer will be very uncomfortable and in fact feel that God is farthest away since the feeling experienced is not one of the ‘happiness’ than is expected from the imaginary god. This is a merciful depression for it causes the believer to draw nearer in word and in prayer, even though the fruits of patience and perseverance may not come for years down the road.

The purpose of our relationship with God is not to make us happy all the time, but to make us holy; to be equipped with patience and perseverance so that we may be ready and equipped in all circumstances to extend the sacrificial love of the cross to all people.