God's hand moves in the life of the believer to guide his steps to an expected end (Psalm 37:23, Jeremiah 29:11). Sometimes the moving of God's hand seems to be contrary to the blessing and the protection of the Lord. It can seem that God has stepped back and let the devil have his way. It can seem like we're going backwards when we think we should be going forward. We can start to wonder - did I sin or miss the Lord?
We need to understand that sometimes the Lord steps back or leads us to a place of bareness and trouble to humble us or cause us to remember that we must depend on Him. Both James and Peter say that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble (James 4:6b, 1 Pet 5:5b).
Deuteronomy chapter 8 tells us that God led Israel on the path they were on for 40 years to humble them, prove (test) them, and know what was in their heart (Deuteronomy 8:2). Sometimes, the Lord brings us into a situation to reveal our hearts to ourselves. When we recognize our own hearts before the Lord, it usually leads to humbling ourselves.
The Lord also humbles us because when we are humble, there is grace available to us that we don't receive when we are proud as mentioned in James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5. God's hand is working to guide us according to His purpose, but also to save our souls and bring us into relationship with Him. Jesus said that without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). Let's stay under the hand of God and understand that His ways may not always seem like a blessing, but He knows what is best for us.
