Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Finding God's Presence ~ God Dwells in a Dark Cloud?

by Nan Jones   @NanJonesAuthor


I once asked the Lord how I could experience  darkness as His child if He is light. He led me to 2 Chronicles 6:1-2: Then Solomon spoke: "The Lord has said that He would dwell in a dark cloud." Huh? The Lord is in a dark cloud? How is that possible? The following is taken  from my journal on the day the Lord gave me understanding:

The wind was kicking up, swirling fallen leaves into tiny whirlwinds. A thunderhead was forming on the horizon. As the massive clouds streamed overhead, the sun became obscured. I rocked on my porch and watched darkness settle on the mountainside.

I looked up at the afternoon sky, thick with dark storm clouds, pondering what Solomon had said. I was looking for answers. I was looking for hope. Life had been so difficult lately. I knew we hadn't been forsaken by the Lord, but I couldn't put the pieces together. God is light and love and all things wonderful, so if I belonged to Him, how could life be filled with such darkness? There had to be an answer.

The sun peeked out from behind the darkest cloud in the sky. It was only for a moment, but it was a God-moment. As the sun revealed its crown of brilliant light, the cloud grew darker. Why? Could it be the darkness of the cloud is actually a shadow cast by the glorious light of the sun? That makes sense, doesn't it? Without the presence of the sun, I don't believe the cloud would be dark. The darkness is a shadow.

Solomon said the Lord told Him He would dwell in a dark cloud. Exodus 20:21 reads, The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was (NIV). I'm beginning to realize that throughout the Old Testament God shrouded His glory with a cloud. I had always pictured this cloud as being bright. But if God is in the cloud, the cloud itself would become dark because God's light would cast a shadow.

When I understand that God is with me and yet find myself in a dark place, could the darkness actually be because He is with me? Could it be that the brilliant Light of His Presence overshadows the evil invading my life? If so, then the reality of my darkness becomes the reality of His Presence...

The reality of my darkness becomes the reality of His Presence.

SELAH

(This is an excerpt from my book, The Perils of a Pastor's Wife)

A Tweetable to Encourage Others


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The Perils of a Pastor's Wife is for the woman of God who has been hurt in the lonely fires of ministry. It's for the woman of God who needs to find God's faithfulness once again and allow Him to heal her wounds. Through the pages of The Perils of a Pastor's Wife my sister-in-Christ will realize that somewhere, somehow, someone understands and she is not alone.


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