Why is God Hiding From Me?

 After taking a week off from the blog, I have struggled to figure out what’s next? A few week’s ago, I attended my annual pilgrimage to Green Bay for my yearly silent prayer retreat. As much as I want to “move on” from my incredible encounter with the Spirit of the Lord and begin to walk the journey which he has placed before me in this upcoming year, I cannot get past the convicting truth which He has brought to my attention---and yes, you guessed it, it is a truth I will now share with you. Two years ago at the retreat, God had me focus on the story of Hezekiah and the purification of the temple. And while he reminded me that that time is now in preparing my temple and that I should not be negligent in doing so ( see 2 Chronicles 29), apparently he was not done in teaching me something through this powerful passage of Scripture as He brought it to me this year once again.

King Hezekiah was a great king and we typically think of a man of faith and a man who trusted the Lord in all he did; however, we sometimes forget about what Hezekiah’s life also produced-----a Manasseh, who was considered to be among the most wicked of Judah’s kings. One has to wonder how such a man of “faith” was inept in making a impact upon his son. Although Hezekiah was a “good” king, he was not without his issues. The end of Hezekiah’s reign did not fair well as his “pride” became his downfall (see 2 Chronicles 32). After God has miraculously healed him and delivered him from the hand of the Assyrians, Hezekiah had allowed pride to enter his heart and caused judgment to fall upon the nation. The end result of his life was a Manasseh.

What causes “Manassehs?” I believe the answer to these things is found in Hezekiah’s dealings in purifying the temple in 2 Chronicles 29. Like Hezekiah, many of us have a passion for the church. We have a passion for worship to take place in the Body of Christ. We long for God to move among his people and we will do whatever it takes to see the “temple” where we worship purified and blessed by the Lord. As Hezekiah began the process, however, he ran into an interesting problem. While there were “Levites” who were more than ready to be used of God and were consecrated to do so, there was a lack of priests to finish the job. 2 Chronicles 29:34 states that “The priests, however, were too few to skin all the burnt offerings; so their kinsmen the Levites helped them until the task was finished and until other priests had been consecrated, for the Levites had been more CONSCIENTIOUS in CONSECRATING themselves than the priests had been.”

At first glance, we may think “What’s so bad about that?” However, when we consider the implications of what that points to, it is rather convicting! The Levites were individuals who were “set apart” for the service of God. Like many of us, we have an area of our life which we have set apart for the service of God. It may be being a member on a worship team, small group leader, deacon, or an usher. Regardless of where it is you may serve, many of us do a great job of making sure that our “service” to the Lord is a consecrated aspect of our lives. Hezekiah’s service to the people of God as “King” was something that he did extremely well in leading the people of God. He understood that as king, he needed to be obedient, trusting, and faithful to the Lord. We would not dispute that concerning our own lives as well. Being in a ministry at the church requires that we also be “consecrated” in fulfilling that ministry.

The priesthood, on the other hand, speaks to something much deeper that Levitical ministry. The priesthood was a life-long calling. It was more than a ministry but it was indicative of the person----they were the “priests” of the Living God. In other words, Levitical ministry is something you do while the priesthood is someone you “are.” I believe that in the church today, we have many who are consecrated in “doing” their ministry, but few who are “consecrated” in all of life! Hezekiah, while being a great king, failed miserably as the priest of his home. He did “kingship” well, but what about his personal life when he was away from the throne?

It is not difficult to the parallels in this story. We have churches full of people who serve the church well in what God has called them to----but what about their lives outside of the church? Are they living consecrated lives? When the TV goes on at home, is the temple remaining “consecrated or are we allowing things which compromise our priesthood? Does our “holy” conversation at church sound like the conversation we have behind close doors in the security of our homes? Do we serve our family like we treat the people we “minister” to with the same passion and respect? Or is home a place to take a “day off” from the grueling task of being “consecrated?”

True worship can only take place in a purified temple. If we fail to keep the temple truly consecrated, then God will do something incredible----he will “hide” from us” (2 Chronicles 32:31). By removing His presence, he will reveal the truth about what is truly in our hearts. Unfortunately, we discover that despite the fact that we serve Him faithfully in the church, His presence remains elusive. Could it be that because we do not see the need to have all of life consecrated unto Him that the process of having a purified temple cannot be made complete? Its not that God does not want to make His presence known to His people but it is because we have yet to live in a way where we act as if we truly desire it. The real fruit of our live will not be measured by the service we do in the church; rather, it will be measured by the person we are at all times before the Lord. Yes, Hezekiah was a great king, but he failed at the more important role of being the priest of his home. We must remember, despite his great faith and trust in God as a king, the Lord didn’t measure his legacy based upon how he served----but in who he was. For Hezekiah, he saw the ever-so-important role as being King of Judah, but lost sight of seeing himself as a person in need of God in all areas of life and living in such a way where his life was consecrated for the full-time service of worship.