Beyond Gray Skies

I'm studying about the will, that is God's will vs. man's will, to continue the discussion on will or willpower vs. discipline. Be back at you soon!

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Driving into work the day after a major downpour--one that delayed us picking up all the kids and getting home by almost an hour, upsetting our daycare provider and forcing me to attend a parent's meeting looking like a drowned rat--I thought about gray skies and their ability to affect people's mindsets.

It's easy to see gray skies and take on a less than sunny disposition. Not angry or evil. Just not happy. The skies are gray, the mood is depressed. It makes it very easy to see gray all around and not to see what's beyond the clouds.

But I believe we're called to see beyond the clouds, to look beyond the gray skies in our lives, be they physical or spiritual.

For one thing, we must know what we know. Too many Christians fall apart at the first sign of trouble, as though the God that was sovereign the day before suddenly no longer is, as though He who sits on the throne has somehow fallen off.

Not so!

We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
1 John 4:13-16

When difficult times rear their heads in our lives, we must know that God is still God. He's God despite the "gray skies" that loom above our heads and seem to surround us. We must know this just as we know that the sun hangs in the sky on a cloudy day.

Oh, we may not see the sun or feel the warming rays of sunshine, but we know that it is still there, just waiting for the clouds to part even a sliver and let its light shine through.

So it must be with us. We must see the Son no matter what gray clouds hang over us.

Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers have a song called "Encourage Yourself". It's one of my favorites because it speaks to this very issue:

Some-times you have to encourage your-self.
Some-times you have to speak victory during the test.
No matter how you feel, speak the Word and you may be healed.
Speak over yourself, encourage yourself,
In the Lord.

In addition to knowing God is still on His thone and still in control, we must take every sliver of opportunity to let His love and grace shine through, even in our most difficult times. It's not easy to smile or present a sunny disposition when you're going through. But someone, somewhere is experiencing an even more difficult time than you--especially if they don't know Jesus personally--and they need that ray of hope.

So the next time you see clouds in the sky, remind yourself that the sun (and the Son) still shine. See beyond the gray skies!

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia