The Cloud Has Lifted
And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys (Ex. 40:36)
The week before last, Iceland rose prominently in the news when a volcano erupted sending up ominous ash clouds in the atmosphere. This clouds of ash, effectively grounded air traffic all over Europe and forced travelers to sit in airport terminals and hotels, waiting to see what will happen with the cloud that hovered over them.
Life can be like that sometimes for the best of us. We start our days with our plans and great excitement as we anticipate the future. Then suddenly a seemingly random event, like the loss of a job or the negative result on a blood test, the pain of losing a loved one or even a quarrel with a spouse.
These eruptions in our lives can produce clouds laden with debris that linger for days sometimes months that lead into years. They settle over our lives and don’t want to leave us. They can be relentless sometimes, causing others around us to feel the effects of our saddened hearts. We no longer speak like we used to, dream like we once did. The days are endless, waiting at the airport of our lives hoping that someone will come and help us reach our destination.
Have you ever noticed that its when you are depressed you meet more people who are depressed? The unemployed man who’s drinking his pain away will always find someone in the same condition that is waiting for their cloud to go away. We feel helpless and frustrated. No one seems to be able to help and everyone seems to have theories, but no answers to your problems.
Let me remind you today that just in case you forgot: God used clouds by day to speak to His children and to remind them of His presence in their lives. In the book of Exodus, God used a cloud to lead the children of Israel by day and a pillar of fire by night.
The children of Israel would wake up in the morning and depending upon the movement of the cloud, they moved. God was teaching them a valuable lesson that our generation seems to have lost. He taught them that man does not live nor direct his life based on His plans. God can and does interrupt our lives to get our attention. Like the children of Israel, we must learn the ways of our Father, so that His voice becomes easy for us to hear and understand.
How we respond to disruptions in our lives speaks of who governs our desires and the deep motivations of our heart. If one volcano, suddenly erupting can cause many countries in Europe to ground their planes, what is God saying to you in this fast-paced world of ours?
- I think He is saying slow down. Seek Me first before you make your plans for the ways of man can be stopped by Me anytime and anywhere.
- I believe He is saying I can lift your cloud and cause you to fly again to higher places and deeper depths than you have every done before.
- I believe He is saying to you that it’s been a long time since you and I have stopped and talked together as you hop form plane to plane and place to place.
- I believe He is reminding you and I that there is more to your life than getting to where you want to go. He wants us to enjoy the journey with Him and those around you.
O my soul, why are you cast down and moan within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet thank Him for the salvation of His presence. O my God, my soul is cast down within me; on account of this I remember You from the land of Jordan, and from the Hermonites, from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep through the voice of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and Your billows have passed over me. Psalms 42:5-7
It is our earnest prayer that this form of teaching will always be a blessing to you and help you grow and make a difference in your generation.
- Apostle Anthony Nelson