Thursday, July 30, 2015

Clarity of Vision--The Lifting of the Cloud



In today’s first reading from Exodus 40: 16-21, 34-38,  we are given instructions that are applicable  to our lives as Christians today; namely, Moses does exactly as the Lord had commanded him in erecting “the Dwelling.”  Also of significance to those erecting a dwelling for the Lord within their very being and within their marriage, their single life, their religious life or as priests,  is the statement:  “Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling, the children of Israel would set out on their journey. But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward; only when it lifted did they go forward. In the daytime the cloud of the Lord was seen over the Dwelling; whereas at night, fire was seen in the cloud by the whole house of Israel in all the states of their journey.” 

How often do I act when “the cloud” has not lifted. I am unsure. I have no clear sign of which direction to choose but go ahead anyway. The result: I realize that I did not wait upon the Lord. I rushed ahead and did it MY way. When I do that, it is always a mistake. Psalm 27: 14, tells us to “wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.”  Psalm 37: 7 counsels us to “[b]e still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.”  The prophet Isaiah reminds us that “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Is 40:31). The prophet Habakkuk  reminds us that “the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3).

Your experience?

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