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The Pillar of Cloud.

Billowing majestically, it moved forward...and the Israelites advanced.

Pulsing with power, it hovered...and they pitched their tents and waited.

The Cloud...always in front of the people. “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” (Ex. 13:21-22 NIV)

The Angel of God. Giving divine guidance by day and fiery heat and light by night.

But the horses’ hoof beats pounded. The chariots rattled. And the marching soldiers’ footfall droned. The enemy closed in on them, in pursuit of their lives.

Israel shook in their sandals. They cried out to the Lord.

Moses said to them, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (Ex. 14:12-14 NKJV)

“Raise your rod, Moses,” God said. “Stretch out your hand over the sea. Divide it that Israel may walk through it on dry ground.”

“Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them...coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.” (Ex. 14:19a, 20 NIV, emphasis mine)

The Living Bible says, “It gave darkness to the Egyptians but light to the people of Israel!” (Ex. 14:20b) Darkness to the enemy; light to the people.

The Lord stood between His children and their enemy. He had their backs! And this enemy at the rear was history. God had a plan for their future and a path all mapped out for them to move forward.

God does the same for us. Sometimes, He performs His handiwork behind us, in the background. So, what is behind us? Our past? Depleted circumstances? Old way of thinking? Attempts of the enemy?

The Lord stands between us and whatever attempts to come against us, protecting us. He has our backs! Our enemy is history. God has a plan for our future and a path all mapped out for us to move forward.

No matter what is behind you, God has drowned it in the dark depths of the sea of forgiveness, if you have given it to Him. Don’t let worry go to the shed and pull out the ol’ fishing pole!

Whatever is on the other side of the cloud, the Lord stands ready to fight for you. Stand still and see what He will accomplish for you.

Let God’s pillar of cloud be darkness to what is behind you and a glory light to what is in front of you.



This post is part of Internet Café's Wordfilled Wednesday...

A few years ago, the Lord showed me a vision of man’s sin on earth. I now share it with you.

As a spectator looking down on the planet from outer space, I observed earth slowly shriveling like a prune, drying up for lack of sun and moisture. At the same time, humanity was withering in the same way, evaporating from the lack of the Son and dew of the Spirit.

Barely a division between those in the church and those outside the church existed. Man’s selfishness covered the earth.

Man’s sins - his inhumanity, pride, bloodshed, lust, perversion of what God intended to be pure, such as marriage and His relationship with His own children - rose up from the earth as thick, ebony smoke, constricting the planet, as if squeezing the life out of it. It ascended into the atmosphere as a dark veil, deflecting the light of God.

“Oh, God,” I cried. “How can this be reversed? What can man do to bring back Your light into the world?”

Without a verbal answer, He showed me men lying prostrate on the ground, all across the globe. Like little spikes sticking up out of a deflated ball, hands were thrust up in prayer. With a great breath, the Spirit exhaled a current that encircled the earth and broke through the veil.

The Spirit then began to move upon those with uplifted hands, sparking a revival of the church, and the influence spread to unbelievers who accepted God’s salvation. It brought to my mind creation in Genesis 1:2, as tohuw and bohuw, without form and void, as the Life of the Spirit hovered over the earth.

I said, “Lord, what will bring this about?”

He answered, “Prayer, prayer, and more prayer, and the hearts of My people longing to bring men into My Light and My salvation.”

Then, the earth and humanity’s darkness gradually became illuminated, growing brighter and brighter, as if released from the black of night to the brilliance of the noonday sun.

God said, “As men will cleanse themselves in the blood of My Son to rid themselves of the darkness within, My Light will shine, for I am Light and in Me there is no darkness, and if I, the Light of the World, live in you, there must be no darkness in you, for dark and Light cannot dwell together. Only when you shine as pure light will My Light be manifested to the world.”

“Look around you!” the disciple John said. “Vast fields of human souls are ripening all around us, and are ready now for reaping.” (John 4:35 TLB)

But what are we doing about it?

I love John 11:43 in the original Greek Text. Before I share why I love it, let’s go back to the beginning of the story.

On the south-eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, approximately two miles east of Jerusalem, and on the road to Jericho, sat the little town of Bethany, home of the family Jesus deeply loved…Lazarus and his two sisters Mary and Martha.

When Lazarus became gravely ill, Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

“When Jesus heard that, He said, ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’” Yet, He did not leave but stayed where He was for two more days.

Jesus told the disciples that Lazarus was dead and added, “I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”

When they neared Bethany, they learned that Lazarus had been buried four days before.

Martha heard that Jesus was on the outskirts of town and went out to meet Him. “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha thought that Jesus meant Lazarus would rise again in the last day resurrection.

Explaining, Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

She answered, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

Martha then went to get Mary and said, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” Mary jumped up and ran to find Jesus. Finding Him, she fell down at His feet, weeping and said to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw the tears streaming down her face and heard the cries of the other mourners with her, He “groaned” in His spirit. “Groaned” in Greek usually means to be angry or indignant, or to reprove severely, as violent agitation of mind. But here, it is that inward agitation of grief. He was deeply disturbed at seeing the sorrow of others.

When they took Jesus to Lazarus’ tomb, the depth of Jesus’ sorrow became evident, for “Jesus wept.”

Jesus told some of the men to remove the stone from the entrance to the tomb. Martha said, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

Here is my very favorite verse, “Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you and promise you that if you would believe and rely on Me, you would see the glory of God?’” (v40 Amp)

As they rolled away the stone, Jesus lifted His eyes and prayed. (Now, we come to the verse I mentioned at the beginning.) Then, Jesus yelled out, as it says in the Greek, in a ‘megas’ voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”

I love looking up the original meanings of the Hebrew and Greek words in the Bible as they give a greater depth to the insights of a verse. What Jesus said was this, “Lazarus! Here! Outside!”

Can’t you just see Jesus pointing His finger at the tomb and then at the ground, stomping His foot, and commanding in great resolution and power that Lazarus come out and join Jesus?

However, what we fail to realize is that when Jesus stood before all the tombs that day, He had to yell, “Lazarus!” If He had not, every one of the bodies buried there would have come out with him!

So, out hobbled Lazarus, wrapped head to foot in his burial cloths. Jesus said to those around Him, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

I love this story. It reminds me of a friend who prayed desperately for her brother to be released from his grave of darkness and come out into the Light.

Jesus loves each one of us just as much as He loved Lazarus. He weeps that death separates us from Him without His salvation. He gives us a Lazarus-call, beckoning us to come out of our darkness into His Light.

When we hear His call, do we stay in our darkened tomb, wrapped in our stinking death cloths, or do we shed them and come out to join the Light of Life? Will God be glorified?

“Did I not tell you and promise you that if you would believe and rely on Me, you would see the glory of God?”

When the clouds of disappointment, heartache, and circumstances roll in to darken our day, what do we do? Whine and complain? Doubt and worry? Question God?

But what does scripture tell us? “Blessed is the people knowing the joyful sound; O Jehovah, they shall walk in the light of Your face.” (Ps. 89:15 Masoretic Text) The ‘joyful sound’ in Hebrew means an acclamation of joy or a battle-cry, especially clangor of trumpets, as an alarm, joy, jubile, loud noise, rejoicing, shout, (high, joyful) sound.

So, what can we conclude? Praise keeps us in the Light!

Therefore, would the opposite be true? Does our lack of praise cause darkness to linger? Or do we still raise our hands in praise and worship when in painful despair? Do we still fall on our knees in the presence of the Lord when in a heart-wrenching trial?

What do you do? When the stream of joy dries up and disappears, do you follow Paul’s words, “Again I say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4b NKJV) The one rejoicing unlocks the dam built by negative thoughts, words, and circumstances. S/he waters that dry, rock-bed and joy flows once again, for s/he “will have rivers of living water flowing from his inmost heart.” (John 7:38b Phillips)

Sing any tune, make up any words, but praise your Beloved. Praise the One Who is the Light of the world.

In your darkness, He is your light! Raise your hands in praise and keep the Light on!

Today, I share with you a story that I received as an email. I tried to find out the author but he or she remains anonymous. This story may be true or it may just be a legend. I found conflicting accounts. Either way, I hope you enjoy it.

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian young male’s Rite of Passage?

The youth’s father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him, and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone.

During the night, the boy is naturally terrified. He hears all kinds of noises. The wind blows the grass. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. But he sits stoically, throughout the long night, never removing the blindfold.

Finally, after a horrific night, the sun appears and he removes his blindfold. It is then that he discovers his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm.

Once the youth survives the night, he is a man. When he returns to his friends, he cannot tell them of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own.

Moral of the story: Just because you can’t see God, doesn’t mean He is not there.

We are never alone. When the howling of circumstances surrounds us and the darkness of afflictions blinds us, we can know that the light of the Son is upon us and that the Father watches over us, sitting on the stump beside us.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”