Simple Clouds

One summer day we arrived at the amusement park.  It was very warm, one of those hot and sticky days.  The blacktop road had absorbed the heat from the previous day and just radiated.  Rain was forecasted, and we were none to happy about the forecast.

We rode a couple of rides with sweat rolling down our heads, backs and other areas!  We were miserable.  We are fans of the warm weather, but this was not good.  By the time we were on the fourth ride we noticed a markable difference.  What had happened?

The rain clouds had rolled in.  They lasted throughout the day and yet the rain seemed to stay away.  The rain clouds turned out to be an incredible covering for us.  The hovered over the park, keeping the temperatures almost pleasant.  They were indeed welcomed.

In the Old Testament, God dwelled among his people.  He chose the tabernacle and the Holy of Holies to be the place of His presence.  The cloud hovered over the ark. (Read Exodus 25-30).

Exodus 40 tells us of the tabernacle and how it was set up.  “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.  Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.  In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not left from above the tabernacle, they would not set out until the day it lifted.” vs. 34-37

Cool huh?  Three things I noticed.  First, our precious Father has always wanted to dwell among his people.  Remember how He walked with Adam in the cool of the garden in Genesis? The sin took place.  God cannot look upon sin.  He is a Holy God.  And yet, He is again providing a way to dwell among his people.  Then I noticed the cloud.  How appropriate that the cloud would somehow represent the glory of the Lord!  Clouds protect, carry rain to nourish the land, are beautiful to behold.  Lastly, notice that the Israelites did not move until the cloud had lifted.  My if we could only move when God called us to!  Some many times I set out in my own timing and not His!

So many times we think of the clouds as a bad thing…..I wonder if those simple clouds can teach us more than we can ever begin to understand?  And next time we are at an amusement park on a hot, humid day….I hope the clouds show up!!

Be Blessed~

IN CHRIST ALONE
Isaiah 55:8-9

*google image, NIV