There is something about a drizzly, blustery day that attracts me. Not to cozy up under a blanket, but to put on my boots and start walking.
The day Eliyah Kate died was such a day. Perhaps that’s the trigger that attracts me to get up and go. When I go, I’m not driven by her memories but by the God who met me.
The books of Exodus, Joshua, and Numbers speak about a “cloud by day” and of “following the cloud.” God’s people ran to the cloud for protection and direction. When the cloud moved, they moved because God had instructed them. Moses approaching the thick darkness where God was intrigued me. He was attracted to the thick dark cloud because he had discovered this was the meeting place of God.
I, too, find the meeting place of the Lord in my walks on dreary days. The cloud guided the Israelites, and they followed like blind sheep. They could not see where they were going, only that they were following the cloud because God said to.
Often, we have no idea where God is taking us. We wonder why we are in this unfamiliar and uncomfortable place. Even with all of His love and goodness, God sometimes doesn’t offer a response—at least not immediately.
But God loves little secrets. He loves when we seek Him out. Doing so is like a child’s game of hide and seek or blind man’s bluff. Once the discovery is made, there is great laughter and joy.
Trials and seasons of hardship have a purpose, as does everything else in the kingdom of God. In the end, you will discover the secret God longs for you to know: a deeper revelation of Himself.
Don’t fret or be fearful if you find yourself in a dark cloud. It is the meeting place of God. Enter into it.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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I enjoyed your analogy. It is so true. Those times when God delays in answering are definitely hard. I appreciated your encouraging words.