The Sun through The Clouds

We were living in an high desert valley.  To go out of the valley, one had to go over a mountain pass where, just past the crest, was a lake.  Coming back home, the first view of the valley was always directly over that beautiful blue shimmer of water.  There were trees around that desert lake but none on the arid mountains around it.  The water always looked cool and restful to the eyes.

That fall, I was attending college part time and had to make many trips over the mountain on the long drive to school.  Very early one morning, having just passed the summit of the pass and coming in view of the lake, a magnificent sight caught my attention.  For just one moment, as I drove along, the entire scene was visible, yet it was indelibly imprinted on my mind.  A desert storm was brewing and the thick clouds were building up rapidly.  It was perhaps 30 minutes past sunrise, and the sun had just cleared the horizon on its upward journey.  The scene was one of majestic breathtaking beauty.  The lake, like a dark mirror, was the deepest blue, topped with white tufts of waves tossed by the wind.  Exactly centered, over the lake, the sun shone through a break in the clouds and its rays were reflected in a direct path across the water in my direction. Rippled by the waves, the gold of the sun’s rays were perfectly reflected. The wind was driving the clouds, building the storm, yet in that one moment the picture I had seen was not one of a wild desert storm, but of serene startling beauty.

Having driven out of the bleakness of that early morning valley, that scene awoke me to the beauty that God had allowed me to glimpse and I voiced a thank you out loud to the Lord.  That "Thank You" started a time of prayer as I drove along, one of my favorite times to converse with the Lord.  After a few moments of prayer, I stopped to reflect, the scene still vivid in my mind.  Why, Lord, did you allow me to glimpse that picture of majesty; was it just for its beauty and Your praise?  There seemed to be a deeper lesson there.  As I pondered, I realized what it was the Lord had wanted me to see and understand.

That one perfectly timed glimpse from just the right position had allowed me to see a scene of loveliness and controlled beauty.  Through the storm, the brightness of the sun had shone, casting its rays over the stormy lake.  The scene was not one of turbulence, but of control, serenity and brilliance.  Yet if another had looked at the scene from perhaps a little different angle, what would they have seen - a dark ominous storm brewing, winds racing, blowing the waves ever higher, and the clouds obscuring the sun, making the morning darker and darker.  The beauty of the scene depended on seeing the entire panorama, all the way across the arid mountain, past the lake, through the clouds, to the brilliance of the sun.  If a person concentrated on just one feature; the dark sky, the wildly tossed lake, the desert valley beyond - all the sense of control and beauty would have been lost.

That is just the way it is with life.  To an unsaved person, with no knowledge of God’s control and plan, life must appear as a senseless storm raging over the desert of their lives - no direction, no control.  They could look on the problems of a Christian’s life and see only the problems, because they are unable to see the Son of God.  God sends trials and circumstances, yes, even stormy days, into our lives to refine us, to make us more perfect reflections of His Son.  Yet the critic, those of men who would seek to destroy us, will point out only the problems, only the situations without being able to understand that God is in control.  What appeared as a majestic picture to me, would be viewed with dismay by such a critic.  "Better watch out a storm is coming," they would warn; "How ugly and dangerous the lake is today."  No sense of the beauty of the entire scene, because they would not see the sun shining through.  Many times these people will be used to discourage Christians.  Just remember, their perspective is limited.  In trying to envision a world without God, they can not understand the Divine Plan working in your life.

Many times we Christians become like the person that only viewed one feature of the scene.  When troubles and trials come on us, we become overwhelmed by the waves of turmoil, by the winds that blow contrary to our plans or the clouds that seem to darken the sky.  Yet all along, God is there.  He is in control and wants us to ever keep our eyes, hearts, and minds stayed on Him.

God wants us to see the entire panorama of life that only a Christian can understand.  Remember Elijah on the mountain in I Kings 19:11-18.  The wind raged and the earth quaked, and the fire came, but after the fire, the still small voice of God spoke gently to Elijah.  God was in control.  He was beyond and over all the forces that Elijah had viewed.  Elijah had been undergoing fiery trials and storms of life, and all he had been able to see had been those trials and conflicts.  Yet God had always been in control.  He had to take Elijah up on that mountain to make him see and understand.  Only by trusting God was Elijah allowed to lift his sight of eyes and heart beyond the circumstances and trials of his life to view God’s perspective and plan.

It is the same lesson that God gave to me with that beautiful scene.  When trials and troubles seem to surround, look beyond to God’s working.  God wants us to look beyond the turbulent waves of trouble, through the building clouds that may come into our lives, and see the brilliance of His Son, Jesus.  God is in control, His light and love give meaning to every part of the vista of our lives.  When you keep your eyes on the Son, no matter what comes, you can be in the serenity of His control.