Isaiah 40:27

Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

I forgat prosperity. And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord .—Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.—Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord , and my judgment is passed over from my God?—In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

This seemed a strange way for God to prove His favor . “At once”—after what? After heaven was opened and the Spirit descended “like a dove” (v. 10), and the Father voiced His blessing, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (v . 11). Yet it is not an abnormal experience.

You, my soul, have also experienced it. Aren’ t your times of deepest depression the moments that immediately follow your loftiest highs? Just yesterday you were soaring high in the heavens and singing in the radiance of the morning. Today , however , your wings are folded and your song is silent. At noon you were basking in the sunshine of the Father ’s smile, but by evening you were saying from the wilderness, “My way is hidden from the L ORD” (Isaiah 40:27).