Friday, February 12, 2016

Blue Skies Are Coming

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”    —1 Corinthians 2:9

On Groundhog Day I was traveling from Somerset to Johnstown early in the morning. The skies were blue, and the sun shone brightly. Miraculously, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow meaning spring is just around the corner. I wondered how anyone could not see their shadow on such a beautiful, blue sky, sun shiny day. I soon discovered how.

As I descended toward the city of Johnstown with the Conemaugh River gap before me, I saw the most awesome, terrible, and incredible cloud of fog before me. The entire city of Johnstown was completely socked in with a dark dense fog. As I slowed to turn across traffic onto my street, it was nearly impossible to see oncoming traffic even with their headlights on. No shadow here; nothing but darkness.

At staff meeting, I related my incredible experience of beautiful sun and blue skies for my hour long trip and then the dark fog for the last two minutes. Asking around the table, no one else saw blue skies. No one was aware that just above the darkness was a bright sun already burning away the dreary fog.

Difficult days of our lives often act like the dense fog trying to block the bright future God has prepared for those who love Him. We lose a loved one, get a bad report from the doctor, have a confrontation at work, or watch someone close to us make one bad choice after another. It seems like there is not only no bright future ahead but no future at all. It is nearly impossible to convince someone plagued with bad news after bad news that God is still on the throne and the blue skies will soon be coming their way.

Most of us subscribe to the adage, “Seeing is believing.” When I talked with our staff this past Tuesday, most of them would not have believed the sun was shining and the skies were bright blue. Why? Because all they could see with their human eyes was darkness and fog. They might have agreed with me that somewhere else the sun was shining but not on them. I had just driven down the hill and had seen the sun for myself. It was really shining and would soon overpower the fog.

Think about the promises of God and His answers to your prayers. God knows what He has in store for each of us. “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). I know a man who asked God to deliver him from the drug culture he felt trapped in. Within minutes as he walked home, a policeman arrested him for a drug violation. At that moment his future looked bleak, but he was transferred to drug rehab, got clean, and the sun (and God’s Son) began to shine in his life.

What challenges are you facing? What darkness are you living in? What prayers are you waiting for God to answer? I may not know your particular kind of fog and despair, but I am certain that God has a break in the clouds and a future of hope for you. The answer may already be on the way. The darkness around you may soon be dispersed by the grace of God in Jesus Christ

No comments:

Post a Comment