I'm sure you've seen it happen. It's sunny out, and then a few clouds start to roll in. Then it gets darker and more foreboding. The blue sky seems to disappear and all that you can see are black clouds, no light anywhere. If you didn't know better you would think those storm clouds were infinite, swallowing up the sky, the sun, everything. Darkness all around, the heavens seemingly shrouded in graveclothes.
Can you imagine what our more superstitious ancestors thought? Was their home going to be swallowed up? They looked for portents in the sky and how menacing it must have seemed; how they must have collectively sighed with relief when the clouds cleared away and they could see the world around them again. The sky had not disappeared, life as they knew it was not over. We know now that clouds are formed from water droplets and ice crystals, but back then what they must have thought!
How often are we going about life, not a seeming care in the world and then the clouds start to form. Eh, I can handle that. They are just blocking the sun a bit. Wait, it is getting so dark, the heavens seem to be collapsing in around me. It is black as night, I cannot see light anywhere. My life as I know it is over. What's happened? There is no sun, there is no light, there is no hope.
Sickness, loss of a loved one, financial ruin. Any or all of those and so much more can bring storm clouds into our lives. One day everything seems fine and then the next we are hit by a two by four alongside the head. We feel hopeless, distraught, blindsided. But just as we know that not only do storm clouds pass, we know that even when we are socked in, the sun is still above the clouds. And we as Christians know that the Son is above all. The grave, like those clouds brought blackness and death. But the Lord overcame death and the grave and rose again. I think of the account of His death. When he said it is finished and darkness came over the earth mid-day. No clouds rolling in, just black as night. How horrible that must have been. The oppression, the weight of it all. Feeling like a gravestone crushing down on your chest. No air, no light, no hope. The fear, tangible and grievous. The world is ending. Darkness when it is not night.
But just as storm clouds pass, just as the sun comes out again, the Son rose. He shattered the darkness. He decimated death. He overcame it all.
Why did He do that? Oh, my dear friend, He did it for you. He did it for me. He did it because the Father who created us loves us so much. The bible says He went as a lamb to the slaughter. But oh that lamb became as the Passover for us, so that death would have no hold on us. As we claim salvation as our own, as we surrender to His Lordship we receive life eternal. Death and darkness no longer have any power over us.
That is not to say that storms won't come. That is not to say that hardships and pain won't come into our lives. But it is saying that we know that the Son is over and above all of those things, just as the sun is still out above the clouds during a thunder storm. And there may be times when we feel as though we have been abandoned, but He has promised us that He will NEVER leave us, nor forsake us. The winds may blow, the trees may break and our house be battered, but we will not be overcome. When our hope is in Him, when we walk by faith and don't look at the darkness all around we can stand in peace when all else seems uncertain. We can rest in the knowledge that His plans for us are for our good, that all we go through will in the end serve some higher purpose. I am not some Pollyanna, playing the 'glad game', trying to find something to be happy about all the time. I am a child of God who knows that her Father loves her, cares about every aspect of her life and will always hold her close. The same Father who allowed His Son to take all of sin and death for me and for you will hold you in His hands no matter what you are going through. Our job is not to struggle and strive and relentlessly work harder to overcome this problem, power through this issue; no our job per se is to rest in Him. Our job is to trust His goodness. Our job is to give Him praise in and through all things. Our job is to let our hearts be at peace through it all. How many times did God say 'fear not' in the bible? Hey, He has it all under control.
So the sky may be dark, the clouds black as night. The lightning may be flashing and the thunder may be ear shattering but remember who has you covered. Instead of huddling inside in fear as the rain pours, put on your boots and go out and stomp in some puddles. Dance in the rain and see what He does.
Can you imagine what our more superstitious ancestors thought? Was their home going to be swallowed up? They looked for portents in the sky and how menacing it must have seemed; how they must have collectively sighed with relief when the clouds cleared away and they could see the world around them again. The sky had not disappeared, life as they knew it was not over. We know now that clouds are formed from water droplets and ice crystals, but back then what they must have thought!
How often are we going about life, not a seeming care in the world and then the clouds start to form. Eh, I can handle that. They are just blocking the sun a bit. Wait, it is getting so dark, the heavens seem to be collapsing in around me. It is black as night, I cannot see light anywhere. My life as I know it is over. What's happened? There is no sun, there is no light, there is no hope.
Sickness, loss of a loved one, financial ruin. Any or all of those and so much more can bring storm clouds into our lives. One day everything seems fine and then the next we are hit by a two by four alongside the head. We feel hopeless, distraught, blindsided. But just as we know that not only do storm clouds pass, we know that even when we are socked in, the sun is still above the clouds. And we as Christians know that the Son is above all. The grave, like those clouds brought blackness and death. But the Lord overcame death and the grave and rose again. I think of the account of His death. When he said it is finished and darkness came over the earth mid-day. No clouds rolling in, just black as night. How horrible that must have been. The oppression, the weight of it all. Feeling like a gravestone crushing down on your chest. No air, no light, no hope. The fear, tangible and grievous. The world is ending. Darkness when it is not night.
But just as storm clouds pass, just as the sun comes out again, the Son rose. He shattered the darkness. He decimated death. He overcame it all.
Why did He do that? Oh, my dear friend, He did it for you. He did it for me. He did it because the Father who created us loves us so much. The bible says He went as a lamb to the slaughter. But oh that lamb became as the Passover for us, so that death would have no hold on us. As we claim salvation as our own, as we surrender to His Lordship we receive life eternal. Death and darkness no longer have any power over us.
That is not to say that storms won't come. That is not to say that hardships and pain won't come into our lives. But it is saying that we know that the Son is over and above all of those things, just as the sun is still out above the clouds during a thunder storm. And there may be times when we feel as though we have been abandoned, but He has promised us that He will NEVER leave us, nor forsake us. The winds may blow, the trees may break and our house be battered, but we will not be overcome. When our hope is in Him, when we walk by faith and don't look at the darkness all around we can stand in peace when all else seems uncertain. We can rest in the knowledge that His plans for us are for our good, that all we go through will in the end serve some higher purpose. I am not some Pollyanna, playing the 'glad game', trying to find something to be happy about all the time. I am a child of God who knows that her Father loves her, cares about every aspect of her life and will always hold her close. The same Father who allowed His Son to take all of sin and death for me and for you will hold you in His hands no matter what you are going through. Our job is not to struggle and strive and relentlessly work harder to overcome this problem, power through this issue; no our job per se is to rest in Him. Our job is to trust His goodness. Our job is to give Him praise in and through all things. Our job is to let our hearts be at peace through it all. How many times did God say 'fear not' in the bible? Hey, He has it all under control.
So the sky may be dark, the clouds black as night. The lightning may be flashing and the thunder may be ear shattering but remember who has you covered. Instead of huddling inside in fear as the rain pours, put on your boots and go out and stomp in some puddles. Dance in the rain and see what He does.