Not a Cloud in the Sky, or Is There?

Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle…Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it. But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted. The cloud of the Lord hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys. ~Exodus 40:34, 36-39

As I finished up reading Exodus the other day, the final verses above made me go “hmmmm.” Having the cloud of the Lord to follow sounds so much easier than trying to hear God—to discern what he would have me do or where he would have me go. Not to mention when he would have me stay right where I am and wait for his direction. Do you struggle with trying to hear God? Wouldn’t a cloud that moved or hovered make it so much easier? I’m reminded of what hurricane season is like in Charleston. With every approaching hurricane we do the “should I go” or “should I stay” dance. With each Weather Channel update, our plans change. Lord, show me the cloud!

But what I’ve discovered is God is speaking to me all the time. His voice most often comes in whispers or promptings. In order to hear, I have to draw close—very close—to him. The Lord has my heart, and he continually fills it, but my mind often tends to wander to the earthly things I’m experiencing in the moment. The struggle is in allowing God to fill my mind as well as my heart. It’s that struggle of living “in” the world but not being “of” the world.

We have to engage with the world in order to live in the world. My desire is to engage with the world but with my focus, my eyes, fixed on Jesus. Do people see Jesus in me? Do they see him in you? If someone wants to know me, are they, by default, drawn to Jesus? I want him to be that evident in me. It’s just that kind of deeply intimate relationship with the Lord that makes it easier to hear his whispers and promptings.

But how do you find that kind of relationship? It starts with realizing God is a real being who is all about relationships. He created us because he wanted to be in relationship with us. Yes, he is almighty, the creator of everything and everyone. He deserves our awe, our worship, our falling at his feet because of who he is. One of the most important characteristics I’ve learned about God as I’ve gotten to know him more deeply is he is not and hasn’t ever been about “religion.” It’s always been about relationship.

The only way to cultivate any relationship, even one with God, is to spend time together, to communicate. On this, like everything else, God has taken on the responsibility—he first communicated with us. He gave us the Scriptures, his love letter to us. If your desire is a deeply intimate relationship with the Lord, the Bible is where to seek him, where he is most likely to whisper to your spirit. God can communicate any way he chooses, through people, through circumstances, through what sometimes appear to be coincidences. But often, in his love letter to me, a verse I’ve read a hundred times before suddenly hits me with new meaning. And I know it’s God’s Spirit whispering to my spirit.

I’ve come to treasure my time with the Lord every morning as the sweetest part of my day. It nourishes me, draws me nearer and nearer to him. It puts my focus on Jesus, and so helps me to step into my day open to the opportunities he may bring to let others see him in me.

At first glance, the cloud of the Lord makes me envy the Israelites and how easy it would have been to follow where God leads. But with Jesus everything changed. How much better to have the Holy Spirit living within me—to have round-the-clock, 24/7/365 direct access to the God of the universe! The God who hears me and answers, who guides me and directs my steps, oftentimes in whispers I have to be oh so close to hear.

Lord, thank you for drawing me close and deeply into relationship with you. Keep me close enough to hear your every whisper. Help me to live in the world yet keep my focus on you. So fill me with your presence that people are drawn closer to you through getting to know me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.