I long that God's children might realize the hidden nature of His working. Do not think that only mighty influences, great visions, and tremendous revelations are of Him. God's surest work is done in the secret of our beings. Often it is just a slight whisper or a slight influence—so slight we can scarcely distinguish it from our own impressions. This is God's mightiest mode of activity. Sometimes from our innermost being comes a faint suggestion (or shall I call it a feeling? or a voice? or words?) saying something like this: "That's your natural life; that belongs to the cross"—saying it in words that are scarcely words; but do please take note, these almost indefinable words are indications of God's most positive activity. You may reason: This is not God; it's just me. But let me assure you, this is His most definite speaking and working. It is such divine activity that has preserved the church throughout her history of nearly two thousand years. The more we serve the Lord, and the more we abide in Him, the more we realize that God is a very quiet God, so quiet that His presence is often undetected. His most intimate way of guiding us is so natural that we scarcely perceive He is guiding us at all, yet somehow we have been led; something has happened. It is often by this quiet, inward activity of God that we receive our greatest guidances.

If you look into the history of the universe, if you look into the history of the Old Testament and into the history of the New, and if you carefully examine the whole history of mankind, you will arrive at the same conclusion: God is a God who hides Himself. This universe was created by Him; the heavens and the earth are the works of His hand; yet for six millennia men have beheld all these things and not one man has ever seen God. The Scripture says of the Old Testament times that no man ever saw Him; but of the New Testament times it says, "The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him" (John 1:18).

And yet, when this only begotten Son came for the very purpose of showing forth the Father, He hid Him in a human life—a human life whose "appearance was marred," a human life that had "no attracting form nor majesty" (Isa. 52:14; 53:2). And He came from Galilee, an insignificant province, and from the town of Nazareth, a small town of which it was said by the Jews that no prophet or person of repute ever came from there (John 1:46; 7:52). So, when He appeared, people not only found it hard to believe that God was present in Him—they found it hard even to believe that He was a prophet of God. Yet God was hidden within Jesus of Nazareth.

One day, as I was pondering this, it occurred to me as an amazing thing that God, who obviously desired to manifest Himself, should have hidden Himself from men for four thousand years—from the creation to the end of the Old Testament period. And when, in the New Testament period, He came from heaven to earth for the special purpose of revealing Himself to men, He hid Himself once more—hid Himself in man. He appears and then hides, and He hides Himself so effectively that no one can possibly recognize Him. It seems as though He likes to act that way. I believe He knows I do not mean it irreverently if I say: That is His temperament!