Looking Beyond The Clouds
This morning was a dreary morning. I woke up at 5:00 AM, got out of bed, dressed and went into my office at home and worked a little while before leaving because I was going to run by the V.A. and see Mike before work. A low, dull hanging cloud enveloped the whole countryside as far as I could see. Later, as I drove toward my destination, a little while after daylight, the same dullness draped itself over the skies for the whole thirty mile trip. It was the kind of weather that makes you feel lower than a snake’s belly in the bottom of a well.
About five miles or so into the trip, looking from side to side and upward out of the side windows as I traveled down the road, it made me think about how life often looks to us when we have difficulties. There is no sun, no moon, no stars and no blue sky. It appears as if it is all gone. Nothing left! You take weather like this, couple it with the fact that you might be having a bad day or some heavy burden pressing upon you, and it is all too easy to conclude that all hope of seeing another beautiful day is over.
As I looked all around and saw this dreariness, I thought about the problems with which so many people I know are presently struggling. I thought about Mike who was struggling with his knee replacement and how well he cares for his mom who is also in the hospital. I thought of many who are struggling with different scenarios in their lives right now. Then I thought about the blue sky that is still there. Then, about the sun, the moon and the stars. None of them have moved at all from their place. They are just not able to be seen with the eye at the moment.
Then I thought of how often we think God is not there. Things come into our lives and we become blinded by them. Our mouth will say God is there… but in our hearts we almost believe He has left us for a time.
When the church weakens, where is God? When my money runs out, where is God? When my marriage is on the rocks, where is God?
God never moves. We only allow ourselves to be blinded by the circumstances. Just like you can see through the clouds and know there is a blue sky, look through the circumstances and know that God is there.