On a Cloudy Day

The sky is white today in Illinois. On these cloudy days,
we must remember the still-burning sun. Here, clouds often obscure the light,
but the sun always shines. A sunny winter day, even inside, can flood our faces
with warm sunshine. Today, though, as I write near a south window, only light
passes through. It illumines but does not warm. These sensory experiences are
not the whole story. Our physical senses only partially testify to reality.

Similarly, God always loves us but we don’t always sense his
warmth. Do we miss it because it’s not true or because clouds obscure the
shining? Just like clouds block sunshine, we carry around emotional and
spiritual obstacles that block our awareness of his goodness.

So many of these clouds arise from early experience. Was
your mother a screamer? Do you sometimes feel God screams at you? Do you have a
vague sense of God’s frown? How did your big brother look at you? Was it hard
to get your father’s attention? Do you walk around feeling alone, like God is
off on a business trip? Were you treated like a slave growing up? Do you cringe
when people talk about God “using” us to accomplish his purposes?

God, please expose our clouds. Please burn off the haze that
blocks your warm light.