The Cloud

I don’t know very much about the internet. I mean, I know it’s called a “super highway” and I can look up a variety of things on it, but . . . I don’t understand it, not really. So the idea of my writings, correspondence, and pictures being stored in “the cloud” . . . well, let’s just say it seems a bit like the proverbial “pie in the sky” to me.

Nevertheless, the notion that emerges from the expression “the cloud” intrigues me to no end. And it got me to thinking this past weekend about clouds. I was a child of the 1950s, so cloud songs from the 1960s pop into my head automatically: Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” comes to mind, but she concludes clouds are just illusions. Simon and Garfunkel sang about clouds, but they concluded they’re like a metaphor for the confusion of life. And the Rolling Stones? Well, they just wanted me to “get off of” their cloud. So, these songs (which are among a host of others) aren’t really helpful to me.

If you want to study something intriguing ask yourself why the Creator of the Universe chose for a time to show His Presence to ancient Israel in the form of a cloud (Exodus 13:21), why He rides on clouds (Isaiah 19:1; Psalm 104:3), and the significance of his return to earth with clouds (Luke 21:27; 1 Thessalonians 4:17).

“Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him.”

Revelation 1:7a NIV

Clouds can be quite arresting, can’t they? Ten years ago this month my mother died. And we remarked at the time that the beauty of the clouds in Georgia during that time was astounding. The shapes, the lighting, the shades and contrasting textures were almost intoxicating. And I felt the same way this past weekend; the clouds were absolutely amazing.

I am not certain what The Cloud that guided the Israelites looked like. but I suspect the “smoke” that filled the temple Isaiah was in when he was commissioned was just like it (Isaiah 6:4). It seemed to be instrumental in creating the “holy” atmosphere he experienced that day.

I won’t begin to explain all the details I was thinking about this past Saturday as I traversed a portion of Georgia alone in my car. Let it suffice to say I had an encounter of my own with God that evening; it was an encounter ushered in by clouds of great majesty and beauty. And immediately my mind went to the 12th chapter of Hebrews:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith . . . consider him . . . endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons . . . therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.”

Hebrews 12:1-2A, 3A, 7A, 12A

The clouds (Ancient Greek, νέφος) in the sky, and the cloud of witnesses reminded me not only of the heroes of Hebrews 11 that precede these verses, but also the cloud of witnesses in my own family, many of whom have already departed and received their reward: both my parents, and my wife’s parents (and many other friends and family). We have often asked the question about these loved ones in our home, “What do they see, what do they know? Do they know how I’m doing, or what I’m struggling with?”

But until I remembered these verses, prompted by the presence of such astoundingly beautiful clouds in the sky this past Saturday, I had no definitive answer. Now . . . I think I do.

If the writer of Hebrews is encouraging me to take courage from the Abels, Enochs, Noahs, Abrahams, Isaacs, Jacobs, Josephs, Moses’s, Rahabs, Gideons, Baraks, Samsons, Jephthahs, Davids, Samuels and others who have gone on before me . . . the 2022 updated list would also include many many loved ones since that time, wouldn’t it? Certainly it would!

The Judds sang a song that came to me as we discussed this last Saturday night. Some of the lyrics are:

“A hundred year old photograph stares out from a frame, and if you look real close you’ll see our eyes are just the same . . . their my guardian angels and I know they can see every step I take, they are watching over me. I might not know where I’m goin’ but I’m sure where I come from . . . .”

“Guardian Angel” The Judds

Guardian angels are not talked about a great detail in Scripture, but they certainly exist in some form (Hebrews 1:14). Whether or not you think the above song captures the exact truth about guardian angels or not, the sentiment is one I can agree with. The encouragement of faith I derive from the heroes of faith in Scripture I can derive from the heroes of faith in my family and in my church today; they are one-in-the-same.

I remain confused about “the cloud” we reference with our computers. But I am a bit clearer about the clouds that encourage me in my life. Unlike the Stones, I encourage you to get “on” and “in” this cloud. There will come a day when Jesus will return in the clouds. Until that time, and with that time in mind, I think I will continue to make a habit of looking up at the clouds for encouragement.

I guess the Lord still guides with clouds after all.