Fog
Blog – 5-16-18
I woke up today to a thick blanket of fog. Visibility was less than a quarter of a mile, and I couldn’t even see the lane in front of my house. Everything looked gray and thick. It reminded me of a bad horror film.
We’ve all heard real-life horror stories of multiple-car accidents that occur when people drive into thick patches of fog. They can’t see clearly what’s in front of them, and that’s when bad things happen.
Or what about the nightmarish tales of pilots being unable to see mountains right in front of them because of fog and flying straight into them.
Fog creates danger and confusion in the physical world.
Mental fog creates that same feeling of danger and confusion in our spiritual lives.
Spiritually when we find ourselves in the middle of a thick, dense cloud, we start to feel confused. We start to doubt. We can’t see what’s right there in front of us. Life can seem dark and heavy, even scary.
For me, I find myself in that fog the most when I’m feeling burned out. When I’m running on empty, the world always seems darker. Or when I’m in the midst of a season of waiting, those clouds can start rolling in. Fear rises up in my soul as I feel that fog of doubt and confusion surrounding me.
The greatest danger with any kind of fog, whether physical or emotional, is it hides the truth. The truth is, the lane outside my house didn’t move this morning. It’s still there. Just because I can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
Spiritually and emotionally speaking, our foggy brains also hide truth. Truth is, God is right here. We are not alone. Truth is, we are loved. Truth is, God is in control and we have no reason to be afraid. Truth is, there are all kinds of blessings sitting there in front of us.
The disciples experienced this same kind of fear in Luke 9:34-35:
While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered 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.”
The disciples couldn’t see Jesus, and they couldn’t see each other. They felt alone, and they got scared.
Maybe you can relate. Maybe you feel alone. Maybe you can’t see Jesus right now.
But the Good News for all of us is, the sun did come out today as the day progressed, and the fog is lifting. It’s still hazy off in the distance, but I can see clearly out my front window as the warmth of the sun burns the fog away. And just as I thought, my lane is right where it’s always been. It didn’t move.
And if we stay close to the source of light for our souls, Jesus Christ, just like the physical sun burns the fog away, the Son can burn our spiritual fog away as well.
We start to feel God’s love again. We start to rest and relax in the truth that God is still in control. We start to trust again.
We may not hear God’s voice crying out to us in the midst of the fog like the disciples did, but then again, maybe we will! Or maybe it will be more like a gentle warming of our souls.
Either way, my prayer is that we will continue to trust that God is indeed there, whether we can see Him or not. He hasn’t moved. He never will.
And hopefully as we cling to that truth, as we focus on the light, the clouds will lift, our strength will be renewed, our hope will be reignited, and we will enjoy the warmth of the Son!
Hugs and love,
Jill
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