Hidden Face, Inner Presence

Neville's Inner Vision

To the seeker, this line is not a curse but a reminder of how the living I AM withdraws when we cling to images. In Neville’s sense, God is not a condemning judge but the constant awareness within you. When you declare allegiance to outward idols—wealth, status, fear, or any image separate from your own consciousness—the day arrives when the inner light dims and the face of God seems hidden. Yet the 'hiding' is not punitive; it is the natural response of consciousness that has identified with lack or separation. The remedy is not to plead for mercy but to remember who you are: I AM, the awareness that makes all things possible. In the moment of recognizing yourself as the I AM, you reverse the movement, and presence floods back as if waking from sleep. The verse thus becomes a practical signpost: attend to the thought that feels like truth, revise it into 'I am always in the presence of God,' and let the feeling of that reality fill your chest until idols dissolve in the light of awareness. Your covenant is loyalty to the inner state, not to external forms.