The Cloudy Day

This morning I woke up to. what is often called, a "grey" day. It was mostly cloudy. There was a place though where the clouds were thin enough that it looked like the sun was peeking through with a few rays of sunlight. It has its own beauty. Even when the clouds cover the sun, the sun is still there giving light, so that I know it is daylight and not dark. I don't need a flashlight to walk outdoors, there is enough daylight to see.

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

I cannot see the sun, but I know, beyond a doubt, that it is still there. I cannot see God, but I know beyond a doubt that He is here.

My prayer for today:

"LORD, thank You for promising that You will never leave me nor forsake me. The cloudy day is a reminder of what is also going on internally with my clouds of grief. But I KNOW in my spirit, You are still here, PRESENT, Emmanuel, "God with us." Your rays of SON Light can reach me through the dark times. You are the Creator. If You want to use even the clouds to send me a message of the reassurance of Your Presence, You can do it. ALL things are possible for You! I put my hope and trust in You. I believe. I will stand.

As I write this, the clouds are parting a little and a few rays of sunshine are coming through, not in the same area of the sky, that I first saw them. LORD, You can appear where You want to, when You want, but Your invisibility does not negate Your Presence in my life. Sometimes I sense Your Presence, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I see Your Handiwork moving people and circumstances miraculously into place and sometimes I don't. But You are alive and active in my life at ALL times. When these grey clouds of grief limit my vision, and I don't see or feel, I don't understand, I don't know the next step to take, I can still whisper Your Name because You are in the midst of this journey with me. I trust Your Goodness, Mercy and Grace.

The Present

Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and God is our strength, a very PRESENT help in times of trouble."

I love thinking about the meaning of words. one that I contemplated recently, during the Holidays, was the word, "PRESENT." It can be spelled the same way and have four different meanings. During the Holidays, a present or a gift is usually on our minds. Christmas reminds us of the present that God gave us in His Son, Jesus Christ. The Magi brought gifts to the new King. Another meaning of the word, present, can mean "here." Emmanuel is here or present with us. Still another meaning can be "now." We have often heard the quote, " God gave us today, that is why we call it the Present." The last meaning I thought about was using the word as a verb, present, as in giving information in a presentation.

So the four meanings:

Present - here

Present - now

Present - give

Present - gift

I can put all the "Presents" together and come up with a message of encouragement from God

"I AM PRESENT, in the PRESENT to PRESENT you a PRESENT."

Another way to put it:

I AM here, now, to give you this gift of Life.

Live it abundantly. It came at a high price. Thanks be to God and enjoy the day.

Your Sister in Christ