February 8, 2026

“Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior!”
Isaiah 45:15

Much of what God does is counterintuitive to human reason. Some might even say that everything God does in revealing Himself runs contrary to human reason. By this, however, we do not mean that Christianity is irrational. Quite the opposite. Rather, as Isaiah states a few chapters later,

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9).

When God reveals Himself, He does so in a way that prevents us from knowing Him on our own terms. He does not allow us to define Him according to our own thoughts and imaginations. To do so is to create an idol, and even a casual reading of Scripture reveals humanity’s tendency to shape gods according to what we want or think we need. Because of our sin, our hearts invent gods we can comprehend and control—gods that feel manageable and safe.

For this reason, God hides Himself within His revelation, so that we must learn to trust Him rather than ourselves. We are called to trust what God promises in His Word, not what our eyes can see or our reason can master. As the apostle Paul writes, “—For we walk by faith, not by sight—” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

God’s greatest revelation of Himself is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1–4). At the cross, God reveals Himself most clearly—yet in a way that remains hidden from human wisdom and from human expectations of what God should be.

Paul speaks directly to this reality when he describes the gospel:

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside’” (1 Corinthians 1:18–19).

He goes on to write,

“For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21).

Therefore, the only way we can truly know God is by trusting Him as He has revealed Himself in His promises to us in Christ. God comes to us in Christ in ways we would never expect. Often He is closest when He seems most distant. His power is revealed in our weakness. His love is found in what appears least lovable. If the cross teaches us anything, it is that life is found in death.

“Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior!” (Isaiah 45:15).

God does not hide Himself to make Himself impossible to find. Rather, He hides Himself so that He may be found—not according to our idolatrous expectations, but according to who He truly is for us in Christ.