3. Manna issue 64 - The God Who Hides Himself 隱藏自已的神
Adapted from a sermon by H.H. Ko—Heidelberg, Germany 節錄自德國海德堡 H.H. Ko 講道
How long, LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
(Ps 89:46)
46耶和華啊，這要到幾時呢？你要將自己隱藏到永遠麼？
你的忿怒如火焚燒要到幾時呢？
(詩 89：46)
How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
(Ps 13:1–2)
1耶和華啊，你忘記我要到幾時呢？要到永遠麼？
你掩面不顧我要到幾時呢？
2我心裡籌算，
終日愁苦，要到幾時呢？
我的仇敵升高壓制我，要到幾時呢？
(詩 13：1-2)
The above words were part of David’s prayers in times of distress.
His prayer may seem familiar to many of us.
In our sorrows, we often cry out to God in the same manner,
and yet, we seem unable to see God.
Similar to the psalmist, we may have been wondering why God is not helping us in our sorrow,
or why He is hiding Himself.
But is God really hiding Himself?
上面的話語，是大衛患難中祈禱文的一部分。
對我們許多人來說，他的禱告似乎很熟悉。
我們的悲傷時候，常常以同樣的方式向神呼求，
然而，我們似乎看不到神。
與詩人相似，我們可能一直很好奇，為什麼神不幫助我們度過悲傷，
或者祂為什麼要隱藏自己呢。
但神真的隱藏了自己嗎？
INVISIBLE, YET PRESENT 看不到，但存在
Sometimes, while we are suffering,
we may truly feel God has forsaken us.
An inspirational Christian story tells us that a man once had a dream,
in which he saw his whole life flash by.
Many times throughout his life,
he saw God’s footprints in the sand, next to his own.
But during the most difficult times in his life,
there would always only be one set of footprints.
For this reason, he asked the Lord,
“I don’t understand why,
when I needed you most, you would leave me.”
The Lord replied,
“My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”
有時，當我們受苦時，
我們可能會真的覺得神拋棄了我們。
有一則勵志的基督教故事告訴我們，有個人曾經有一個夢想，
他看到自己的一生一閃而過。
一生中有無數次，
在沙灘上他看到神的腳印，緊貼著自己的腳印。
但在他人生最困難的時候，
總是只會有一組腳印。
為此，他問主說：
“我不明白為什麼，
在我最需要你的時候，你會離開我。”
主回答說：
“我親愛的孩子，
我愛你，我永遠不會離開你。
在你考驗苦難的時候，
當你只看到一組腳印時，就是那個時候，我背著你。”
Whenever we are in sorrow and grief, God is actually carrying us
—we just do not know it.
每當我們悲痛和傷心時，神實際上在背負著我們，
—只是我們不知道。
Having said that, why does God hide Himself while He carries us?
話說回來，為什麼背神著我們，卻隱藏自己呢？
TRUST AND OBEY 信靠順服
The secret things belong to the LORD our God,
but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever,
that we may do all the words of this law.
(Deut 29:29)
29隱祕的事是屬耶和華─我們神的；
惟有明顯的事是永遠屬我們和我們子孫的，
好叫我們遵行這律法上的一切話。
(申 29：29)
Although we often cannot see God’s presence in times of trials,
we need to continually put our faith and trust in Him.
God may not have revealed to us why or how long we have to suffer,
but He has revealed to us what we need to know to follow His commandments.
It is up to us to obey what we know,
even if we may not always understand.
雖然試煉的時候，我們常常看不到神的存在，
我們需要一直相信並信靠祂。
神可能沒有向我們揭露，自已為什麼要受苦，或是要受苦多久，
但祂已經告訴我們，我們所需要知道的事項，讓我們能遵守祂的誡命。
這取決於我們去遵守自已所學習的命令，
即使我們不可能總是可以明白。
When God commanded Isaiah to prophesy
that Babylon would destroy the kingdom of Israel
and carry God’s people away into captivity, he was puzzled.
He could not understand why God would do such a thing to His own people.
For this reason, Isaiah uttered a sigh from the bottom of his heart,
“Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior!”
(Isa 45:15).
當神命令以賽亞說預言時，
巴比倫會毀滅以色列王國，
並且擄去神的百姓，他覺得很為難。
他不明白，為什麼神要這樣對待祂自己的子民。
為此，以賽亞從心底發出一聲嘆息，
“15救主─以色列的神啊，你實在是自隱的神。！”
（賽 45:15）。
Although he could not understand God’s plan,
Isaiah still went ahead to prophesy what God had commanded.
Moreover, he acknowledged that God is the only Savior of Israel.
In this way, he re-emphasized God’s message:
"I am the LORD, and there is no other”
(Isa 45:18)
—although you may not understand why I am doing what I’m doing,
I am the Almighty, I know what is best and I want you to trust in Me.
雖然以賽亞無法理解神的計劃，
他仍然繼續預言神所吩咐的事。
此外，他承認神是以色列唯一的救主。
以這種方式，他再次強調了神的信息：
“18我是耶和華，再沒有別神。”
（賽 45：18）
—雖然你可能不明白，為什麼我要做現在正在做的事情，
我無所不能，我知道什麼是最好的，我希望你相信我。
With this message, God not only intends to show His sovereignty and omnipotence;
more importantly, He wants to reassure us of His wisdom and power,
so that we can trust in and obey Him.
通過這個信息，神不僅想要顯示祂的主權和無所不能；
更重要的是，祂想保證，讓我們相信祂的智慧和力量，
這樣我們可以信靠祂，並順服祂。
MADE BEAUTIFUL IN HIS TIME 按其時，成為美好
In times of trial, we do not only seek for God’s help but,
very often, we also ask God for an answer:
“Lord, why is this happening to me?”
Many a time, we may not get answers from God,
although we may have been praying very hard for understanding.
During these moments, we must not be discouraged.
Instead, we need to remember that God is sovereign
—He is the King of kings and the Creator
who reigns with absolute wisdom and authority.
For this reason, He can choose not to answer us.
在試煉的時候，我們不僅要尋求神的幫助，而且，
常常很快，我們也會求神給出一個答案：
“主啊，為什麼這件事會發生在我身上？”
很多時候，我們可能得不到神的答覆，
雖然我們可能一直很努力想祈求明白。
在這些時刻，我們絕不能灰心。
相反，我們需要記住神是至高無上的，
—祂是萬王之王和造物主
祂有絕對的智慧和權柄統治世界。
因此，祂可以選擇不回答我們。
For so the LORD said to me,
"I will take My rest,
And I will look from My dwelling place Like clear heat in sunshine,
Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."
(Isa 18:4)
4耶和華對我這樣說：
我要安靜，
在我的居所觀看，如同日光中的清熱，
又如露水的雲霧在收割的熱天。
(賽 18：4)
Although it may seem as if God is not responding here,
He is always watching us and working quietly in the background.
During harvest time, good weather is essential.
By providing sunshine and heat,
God allows the reapers to bring in the harvest and to smoothly complete their work.
雖然看起來，神在這裡沒有回應，
祂總是看著我們，在背後安靜作工。
在收穫的季節，好天氣是必不可少的。
藉由預備陽光和溫暖，
神使收割的人收割莊稼，順利地完成他們的工作。
In fact, Solomon tells us
that God makes all things beautiful in His time and for His reason.
事實上，所羅門王告訴我們，
神各按其時，出於祂的旨意，使萬物成為美好。
He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Also He has put eternity in their hearts,
except that no one can find out the work
that God does from beginning to end.
(Eccl 3:11)
11神造萬物，各按其時成為美好，
又將永生（原文是永遠）安置在世人心裡。
然而神從始至終的作為，人不能參透。
(傳 3：11)
So, although we may not be able to comprehend God’s doings,
and may not understand why we are suffering,
we must continue to have faith in God.
During the toughest moments in our lives,
let us remember and trust in God’s great wisdom and deep love for us.
Let us hold on to God, for
“we know that all things work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are the called according to His purpose”
(Rom 8:28).
所以，我們雖然不能明白神的作為，
可能不明白我們為什麼受苦，
我們必須繼續對神有信心。
在我們生命中最艱難的時刻，
讓我們記住，並相信神為我們好的大智慧和深愛。
讓我們依靠神，因為
“28我們曉得萬事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處，
就是按他旨意被召的人。”
（羅 8：28）。
A couple at one of our churches in northern Taiwan
lost their two children within a short period of time.
Although they were deeply grieved,
they continued to pray to God
because they knew that God is the only one who can control life.
So they brought all their pain and tears to the Lord in prayer,
and soon afterwards God comforted them in a miraculous way.
Although the couple had already undergone infertilization,
the wife conceived again and eventually gave birth to twins.
Indeed, as long as we love God and hold on to His principles,
God will listen to our heartfelt prayers
—He will make all things beautiful in His time.
我們北台灣有一間教會的夫婦，
短時間內失去了兩個孩子。
儘管他們內心悲痛，
他們繼續向神禱告，
因為他們知道，神是唯一可以掌控生命的人。
於是他們在禱告中，把所有的痛苦和眼淚帶到主面前，
不久之後，神以奇蹟的方式安慰他們。
雖然這對夫妻早已進行了絕育，
但妻子再次懷孕，並且最終生下了雙胞胎。
是的，只要我們愛神，並堅守祂的原則，
神會垂聽我們發自內心的祈禱
—祂將使萬物，各按其時成為美好。
ACKNOWLEDGE GOD IN ALL OUR WAYS 在你一切所行的事上都要認定祂
Paul too understood very well that life and death are in God’s hands.
He thus acknowledged God in all his ways:
保羅也很清楚，生死都在神的手中。
因此，他面對自已所有的道路時，都認定神：
But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills …
(1 Cor 4:19)
19然而，主若許我，我必快到你們那裡去，
(林前 4：19)
… But I hope to stay a while with you, if the Lord permits.
(1 Cor 16:7)
7...主若許我，我就指望和你們同住幾時。
(林前 16：7)
When Paul said, “if the Lord wills”,
he was neither weak-willed nor did he desire to push away responsibility.
Instead, his words show that he knew God very well.
He understood that God’s wisdom is far beyond his human comprehension
and that God’s plan may well be different from his own.
Consequently he did not dare to ignore God when he made his plans.
當保羅說“主若願意”時，
他既不意志薄弱，也不想推卸責任。
相反的，他的話語表明自已非常了解神。
他明白，神的智慧遠超人所能理解的，
並且神的計劃很可能與他自己的計劃不同。
因此，他在擬定計劃時，不敢忽視神。
Today, have we acknowledged God’s sovereignty in our life?
Do we acknowledge Him in all our ways
and have we entrusted our entire life to Him?
今天，我們是否認定，神掌握我們生命的主權呢？
我們是否可以認定祂，在我們一切所行的道路？
我們是否可以託付自已整個生命給祂？
… You ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."
(Jas 4:15)
15你們只當說：「主若願意，我們就可以活著，也可以做這事，或做那事。」
(雅 4：15)
CONCLUSION 結論
Although God often seems to hide Himself from us in our times of suffering,
afflictions are the only way for us to eventually find and see God.
雖然我們受苦的時候，神似乎常常隱藏自己不讓我們知道，
最終苦難是我們找到，並看到神的唯一途徑。
And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore,
but your eyes shall see your teachers.
(Isa 30:20)
20主雖以艱難給你當餅，以困苦給你當水，
你的教師卻不再隱藏；
你眼必看見你的教師。
(賽 30：20)
In times of suffering, we may grow weary in faith and feel discouraged.
However, we must continue in unceasing prayers to God, whatever may befall.
Instead of seeking an answer, we need to seek God’s face.
在患難的時候，我們可能會信心軟弱，並且感到灰心。
然而，無論發生什麼事，我們都必須繼續一直向神禱告。
與其尋求答案，不如尋求親見神的面。
'And I will not hide My face from them anymore;
for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,'
says the Lord GOD.
(Ezek 39:29)
29我也不再掩面不顧他們，
因我已將我的靈澆灌以色列家。
這是主耶和華說的。
(結 39：29)
When the Holy Spirit fills us, we will eventually find God.
When His peace fills our hearts and we experience His abidance,
we will finally see the Lord.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit,
God will open our spiritual eyes,
just as He opened Job’s eyes after countless afflictions.
當聖靈充滿我們的時候，最終我們會找到神。
當祂的平安充滿我們的內心，我們會體驗到祂的同在，
我們最終會看見主。
藉著聖靈的大能，
神會打開我們屬靈的眼睛，
正如約伯經歷無數苦難之後，神打開了他的眼睛。
Then Job answered the LORD and said: …
"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You”.
(Job 42:1, 5)
1約伯回答耶和華說：
“5我從前風聞有你，現在親眼看見你。”。
（伯 42：1、5）
After suffering so much affliction and pain, Job finally saw God.
He still did not understand why he went through all his sufferings.
Yet, he saw and acknowledged his own insignificance
as well the Lord’s sovereignty and omnipotence.
Eventually, “the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning”
(Job 42:12).
約伯受盡患難痛苦之後，終於看見了神。
他仍然不明白，為什麼自已要經歷所有的痛苦。
然而，他看見並認為自己很渺小，
以及清楚主的權柄及無所不能。
最後，“12耶和華後來賜福給約伯比先前更多。”
（伯 42：12）。
Let us therefore acknowledge God’s sovereignty and great wisdom.
Let us commit ourselves into His almighty hand and trust Him unconditionally,
for He surely knows what is best for us.
因此，讓我們認定神的權柄和偉大的智慧。
讓我們把自己交託在祂全能的手中，無條件地信靠祂，
因為他一定知道，什麼才是對我們最好的。
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
(Jer 29:13)
13你們尋求我，若專心尋求我，就必尋見。
(耶 29：13)
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
歡迎主內同靈來信加入翻譯
