Do You Have Your Head In The Clouds?

Do you have your head in the clouds? Sometimes I do. And not in a positive, dreamy way either.  Clouds of loneliness, helplessness and hopelessness bank up, press in one upon another, and shut out the light of God's goodness and the truth that He cares for me.

But then (two of my favorite words!) something happened in God's perfect timing. A friend sent me an email with a challenge to look at a particular verse in the Bible.

Here it is: ". . . and clouds are the dust of His feet." Nahum 1:3 NIV

I wondered. Was there any correlation between the hopeless clouds I felt in my heart, and the clouds in the sky above me that were the dust of God's footprints? Would God ever turn and look back at his footprints? And in doing so would He ever notice the dismal gloom that I stumbled beneath? Does He see? Does He care?

Or maybe He's too big, maybe I'm too small . . .

My friend reminded me that many of us have suffered clouds of grief, pain, illness, loss and disappointments. And she reminded me that clouds have always been very important to God. From the mist and the firmament in the the Genesis creation account, to the pillar of cloud that the Israelites followed out of Egypt, to Christ's ascension up to heaven in a cloud, to Revelation's second coming of Christ upon clouds of glory clouds always indicate God's holiness and His protective covering over our human frailty.

"But what about these clouds in my heart?" I almost whispered. They were thick and imposing. Serious, life altering thunderheads, threatening my inner peace, identity and happiness.

My friend didn't answer. She hadn't heard my half-formed whisper. But God did. If clouds were the dust of his footprints, then the clouds in my heart meant, "I've got you covered." I was under His shadow, His footprint. He was above me, far over me, and He'd already marked the trail for me. The clouds in my heart were the evidence: God had been there; I was covered.

But now I have a choice, as grief and life so often offer. The clouds haven't vanished, I still have a heart full of problems. I'm as certain as a weatherman that these clouds will bring some storms. But I can choose to believe they are the dust of God's footprints and He has me covered, or I can choose to despair. For today I choose to live with my head in the clouds, believing that God has me covered. The dust of God's footprints mark the trail of His path for me.

How's the forecast for your heart?

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him. Nahum 1:7 NIV