Casandra Martin

The sky is filled with clouds today. A soft layer of grey covers the blue, filtering the sunlight through prisms of mist. The world looks softer today. Wrapped in a blanket of clouds, the earth waits – a little quieter, a little cooler, and seemingly a little slower as the weight of the clouds presses in on the atmosphere.

Clouds should do more, however, than remind us to pick up an umbrella. The Bible is filled with pictures of clouds. Clouds announce the presence of God. They trumpet His nearness, calling us to prepare our hearts and bend our knees.

Clouds can remind us of the way God covers us, protects us, and leads us. Israel walked under a canopy as the pillar of cloud led them to the Promised Land. The pillar of cloud provided very visible, tangible evidence of God’s love and presence.

Clouds can help us focus on God’s holiness. In Exodus 19, a thick cloud covered Mount Sinai as Israel prepared to meet God. The cloud helped to showcase His awesome nature, His majesty and might, and the holiness to which He called His people to live.

Clouds can call us to pay attention to Jesus. Standing on the Mount of Transfiguration, a voice called out of a cloud, proclaiming, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” (Mark 9:7)

Clouds can heighten our anticipation for the return of Jesus. Clouds play a large part in the pictures of the second coming painted in Revelation 1:7 and I Thessalonians 4:17. Every time we see a cloud, it should make our heart beat in wonder and our eyes look for His light.

My Jesus Resolution today is to watch the clouds. Clouds are more than vapors of water molecules bunched together in the sky. Each cloud testifies to the movement and majesty of God. The way the clouds wrap around the earth can remind me of the way I am enfolded in His love. The way light plays off the clouds can help draw my heart deeper into the light of His holiness.  Nahum 1:3 paints the neatest picture of clouds –“His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” Every time I look at the clouds, I am going to see them as trails that trace the movement of God through my day.