Up in the Clouds

Then we which are alive and remain shall be

caught up together with them in the clouds,

to meet the Lord in the air: and so

shall we ever be with the Lord.

I Thessalonians 4:17

I have loved clouds since I was a little girl. My grandmother taught me how to look at clouds and find what looked like animal shapes. When young children, my little sister Kay and I would often lay on a blanket in the back yard looking up to the clouds in the sky to see what pictures we could make. Here in Tennessee, on a sunny day, the clouds are beautiful and every now and then, I find myself looking at them to see if there could be a floating white dog or cat passing by.

It was only my third time to fly and I wasn't very happy about it. I must tell you that I DO NOT like to fly. It was a very stormy day with rain pouring in sheets. To my dismay, I found that the plane would be departing on time. UNBELIEVABLE...was there no thought for the safety of people, better yet, for MY safety? Under the best of circumstances at that time, I would practically have to be carried onto a plane under heavy sedation (which never happened of course) but this was really a bad situation that day. As I boarded the plane, there stood the pilot, standing in the doorway of the cockpit grinning his best public relations smile. I asked him if we were really going to get to Georgia in one piece. The smile never changed as he assured me of my safety. I think I mumbled a low: “Yea, sure!”

Wouldn't you know, I had been assigned to a window seat away from the wing so that I couldn't help but view the abyss below me. However, I had come prepared to keep my mind as occupied as possible and proceeded to reach for my Bible and notebook. I made sure I was busy doing some work at the time of takeoff. It was 1:00 in the afternoon but dark enough outside that it seemed like early evening. It wasn't an encouraging situation for a hesitant flier.

There was suddenly something phenomenal that occurred. As we started to move through the clouds, it got lighter outside...lighter, and lighter and then came bright sunlight and blue sky. The clouds were now white and fluffy instead of dark and ominous. Gone was the rain, and the dark clouds were no longer visible even though I knew they were still a good way below. I couldn't see the storm clouds below as the white, fluffy clouds had taken over. In fact, it was of comfort to me to think that when storm clouds come into my life, I can remember that above them is the sunshine of God's solutions. Those storm clouds will not always linger even though at times it seems they will never dissipate, but my Father is ever with me whether in sunshine or shadow.

I did something I had never done before and I strongly recommend it to anyone as a fun Bible study thing to do. I had a small concordance with me at the time. I turned to the word “cloud” in my concordance and I began listing every Bible reference that had that word with the corresponding Scripture reference listed next to it. I looked everyone of them up and circled the ones that made some sense to me at the moment. Then I wrote out the verses that were significant. What fun that was. I won't belabor my findings, but I was reminded of some clouds in Scripture, such as:

• the cloud over the tabernacle...God's presence that led the Israelites by day
• the cloud covering Mt. Sinai when Moses was there
• the cloud at the transfiguration of Jesus
• when Jesus ascended, a cloud received Him
• Hebrews 12:1 refers to a cloud of witnesses

When my plane landed I didn't mind at all that I had found myself up in the clouds. 

I'll never forget that day. It was a day to recall some childhood memories of making cloud pictures, but in those few hours, I was blessed to recall that:

• I will have fears but they can be conquered with God's help. When I am fearing, then I'm not trusting, my eyes are on circumstances and not on the pilot of my life. I tended to keep my eye on the wrong pilot.
• I must choose the right distractions when I find myself in a state of fear of worry, and
• above the storm clouds of life, there are blue skies and sunshine above them.

I also learned:

• to find a new and different way of Bible study instead of chewing on the same old methods. I can't tell you how much I learned that day on that plane even amid my fears. It's a Bible study method I now use often...word studies. This method, however, is not for the faint of heart. It means getting out pencil, notebook and Bible...really applying oneself to a time of study, and
• that we all must get over the embarrassment of reading our Bibles in public. Many Christians won't even read from their New Testaments in public lest people will think them odd. First, realize that we are odd to the world. Scripture tells us we are a peculiar people. Next, as we are observed, we are also being a witness to anyone looking at us. In the end, we may have an opportunity to answer an inquisitors questions or address a problem they share with us. This applies not just to a nervous flier up in the clouds, but to any Christian who might be calmly sitting in a waiting room somewhere.

Isn't this Christian life of ours just too marvelous to put into words? God, our Father, sees to every provision we need at any time we need it. We are such blessed people. He's not only given us His presence, but has provided us with His wonderful Word that we can feast upon anytime and anywhere. He's always near to calm every fear. That's enough to keep us walking on clouds.

Dear Father...Thank You for Your constant presence in my life. No matter where I am, You are there. You are just so precious to me and can't imagine life without You. May I never disappoint You but if I do, I thank You for Your unconditional love and forgiveness. I love You more than I can say...Amen