Behind the Clouds

Years ago I was captivated by how God got my attention one morning as I drove to work in downtown Nashville. Reading Adore by Sara Hagerty I was brought back to that morning as she shared her own cloud story that led her to “adore”.

No doubt I’ve written about this experience somewhere in the past, but I couldn’t help but relive, and write about, that morning again after Sara’s reminder!

It was such a tough season for many reasons: my mom’s declining mental abilities, heavy work and travel load, family crises all piled up. This was also the week of our annual LifeWay Women’s Leadership Forum, our largest training event of the year. I headed into that week on the verge of sickness with a lingering cough and total exhaustion.

One morning as I was leaving the platform at the forum, a colleague met me behind stage to tell me my mother had been hospitalized. Since I was the host for this event, I just sat down on the steps and ask the Lord for guidance. I won’t go into details, but with my daughter at the hospital telling me she had it under control, I took a group of leaders to dinner that evening before heading to the hospital. That meal turned into a fiasco that led me to have to go in early the next morning to explain to my supervisor the situation.

The morning after the forum ended, I was heading back to the hospital then downtown to my office when I had my “cloud” moment. Although there were many dark clouds that morning, all of a sudden, rays of sunlight glowed around those clouds from behind. It was so bright I couldn’t miss it, and it was as though the Lord said to me, “I am here! I am always here. I will always be here, no matter how dark it appears on your side of the clouds!”

All I could do was marvel and worship Him. He reassured me of His presence and ability to handle anything He allowed into my life. He made it clear as though He told me, “I’ve got this…and by the way, anything else you ever ever face.” A precious moment of comfort and truth I will never forget occurred that day.

The writer of Hebrews closes his book with some final thoughts including this in Hebrews 13:5b…

“Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.”

And we read in Psalm 139:7-10…

“Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?, If I go up to heaven, you are there;, if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there., If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me.“

Do you need this reminder today? Has He forgotten what you are going through? Pandemic, civil unrest, political strife, moral decay…what else will we face in this season? Perhaps for you, you are also facing a critical health issue recently discovered. Maybe a loved one has fallen back into addiction during the isolation. Perhaps you business has had to shut down or you have lost your job.

You may be wondering like I was that day long ago, “God, where are You? Why aren’t you doing something to fix all this? Are you even there?” He IS! He’s always working no matter what it looks like to you. Next time you see the sun peek out of dark clouds, or even, if you just see the rays revealing a silver lining on those dark clouds, claim as I did that day, “You are sovereign and I know you are there. Please send me this reminder each time I doubt. Help me trust Truth rather than my doubting thoughts and feelings.”

I love the words from Waymaker by Leeland, “Even when I don’t see it, you’re working, even when I don’t feel it, you’re working. You never stop, You never stop working. You never stop, You never stop working .” Trust Him. He will never fail you. Watch for that glow behind the clouds of your life today.

Banner photo by Emilia Syldatk on Unsplash