"The sky is always blue, sometimes you just have to rise above the clouds to see it.”
- M. High
I will never forget my first flight above the clouds in the late 1980’s. I was on my way to New York City to study at Parsons School of Design. There was a mass of dark clouds and turbulence as we were ascending out of Detroit, but once the plane was at 10,000 ft the sky was blue and sunny. It was here that I had a moment of stark clarity and experienced unbridled truth. It rocked my world.
I realized that no matter how thick the cloud layer, and how stormy it may be, there was still a blue sky beyond it. Growing up in the Midwest near the Great Lakes, cloudy, gloomy days are a part of life. (you might have around 60ish non-cloudy days). Between the arctic air masses out of Canada, the tropical air masses from the gulf and the lake effect, it was frequently cloudy. I had no clue that the sun was always there, until we broke through the clouds.
Life is all about perspective. In reality, it is a sunny day every day, you just have to rise about the clouds to see it.
I am really sensing the heightened emotional despair in people in the community. Even though the average of daily new cases is going down, it seems like the emotional, mental and behavioral effects are on the rise. We are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. The secondary effects of the pandemic due to fear, illness, grief, job loss, social isolation and uncertainty are just starting to manifest themselves in the population at large. Collectively, for the past two years, we’ve spent so much of our time and energy living life beneath the clouds.
I know personally, the last two years have certainly stretched my faith and exposed where I trusted more in the structure of our society than in God. Each new headline or breaking news bulletin is like a lightning bolt on the horizon — a storm of change, a cloud of despair.
It is really a spiritual battle. When the clouds of the enemy overshadow us, and obscure the view from time to time, we mustn't doubt that Jesus still watches over us. God is in control. By the eye of faith we must penetrate through the gloom and see Christ, who always watches over His children.
Instead of despairing, we patiently trust that He will work all things out for good, in His time, even though we may not be able to see His providences right now.
As we do this, the Bible promises. "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." - Isaiah 40.31
Here are some jewels of truth, verses that remind us that our Creator God is still in control.
When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. Psalm 75:3
If ever there were a theme verse for the past two years, this would be it. A pandemic, worldwide restrictions and closures, stock market ups and downs, scarcity, inflation, job losses, tensions and rioting. But through all of this, God keeps the earth spinning on its axis.
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:9-10
A stronghold. Somewhere to run for safety when the world is shifting around us. Our God is our stronghold and will never leave us.
The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. Psalm 145:14
He knows what we need. He knows when we are falling, and when we feel like we’re falling. He will hold us up through whatever loss or lack we face.
This I know, that God is for me. Psalm 56:9c
David wrote this psalm when he found himself in the Philistine camp while running for his life from Saul. He was surrounded by enemies. As David reminded himself to trust God, he staked his hope on this: No matter what danger threatened, God was for David. We can face anything with God on our side.
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Psalm 68:19
It is so freeing to know that God doesn’t limit how often He will help us. He doesn’t just carry us through our problem once, or even just once a week. David — like each of us — trusted that God would hold him up every. single. day.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
Jesus doesn’t say we won’t have problems. But He does promise that He has already overcome any problems we will face.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. John 15:9
This one blows my mind. We say that God is love and that He loves us, and both are true. But can we ever really understand that Jesus loves us as the Father loves Him? We will probably never grasp the intricacies of the Trinity and the theology of this verse, but one thing is clear: Jesus really, really loves us. More than we can truly understand, and infinitely more than we could ever love Him back.
Even when the clouds are there, you are still always protected and never without love and light guiding you. Beautiful days are coming. This is the wisdom that comes from rising above the clouds.
