Trust in the Cloud

Luke 9:34-35 "While [Peter] was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." (NIV)

  It's been a long time coming as I try to live with the mystery of God. I find it easier to be confident about things I am able to see or 'understand.' When I can comprehend what, where, or why, I stand firm. Standing with the mystery of God is like standing on a cloud.

     I can't image how the children of Israel followed a cloud in the wilderness by day. When it lifted, they moved. When it stayed put, they stayed put. I tend to strike out in the direction I see the quickest solution. They had to trust Mystery in leading them to the right places at the right times. They trusted in the Cloud.

     On the mountain where Christ's transfiguration took place, a Cloud surrounded Jesus, Peter, John, and James. A voice came from the Cloud: "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." That's awesome news. The Son is the tangible form of the Mystery we call God. I can either struggle to deal with Mystery and claim God is like the Old Testament, or I can cling to the Son, Christ Jesus, and listen to him in faith.

     That doesn't mean I will always understand Jesus. Just look at his disciples. Very few of the people who met Jesus face to face (except the poor, the hungry, the oppressed, the imprisoned) understood him. He wasn't logical. He didn't preach the same old religion from the past. That's the rub. We like the old time religion. It's easier to accept tradition since it is 'solid.'  Yet clouds are not solid. You can only stand on them with shoes of faith.

     How can I have any confidence when I think I hear the voice of Jesus or Mystery speaking to me? I look at the response or fruit that comes out of the Voice. The fruit that comes from the Spirit of God brings love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). The Mystery produces these fruits. When my actions bring out these things in me, then I am assured that the Cloud has guided me.

    I will trust in the Lord and lean not on my own understanding.

Peace - PWM