Clouds Declare God’s Glory

Psalm 18:9-12 says God: “parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. (10) He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. (11) He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him‑‑ the dark rain clouds of the sky. (12) Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.” Clouds do two things: They visibly declare their glory and they share the contents of their glory–whether it’s rain, snow, sleet, or hail. We’re beneficiaries of clouds. Everyone loves a sunny day, and everyone hates a cloudy day. MAYBE … there are some dark clouds in your life. Remember the cartoon character who always had a black cloud following him everywhere? We need to look BEYOND the dark clouds to the RAINBOW that God always has for us. There can’t be a rainbow, without clouds! You’ve heard the old saying, “Beyond every cloud there’s a silver lining.” While that may not be true, there’s always a RAINBOW of God’s presence beyond every dark cloud. Dark clouds may be brought over our life by God. When they come, they are there so we can see the RAINBOW of His grace and glory. There is no dark cloud without a RAINBOW of promise. Dark clouds always mean showers of blessing. Romans 4:21 – “And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. We tend to speak of the beauty of any given day in relation to how much of the sun and sky we are able to see. However, Scripture encourages us to view the clouds in such a way as to think of the glory and presence of God. Imagery of clouds signal the immediate presence of God. God placed his bow in the clouds after Noah and his family stepped off the ark..No sooner had Noah and his family stepped off of the Ark than the Lord placed his bow in the clouds—a sacramental reminder of the covenant mercy that he was promising in preparation for the coming Redeemer. Clouds are those created symbols of transcendence and imminence. They reflect both the transcendent glory of the Lord and His imminent approach to us.The apostle John tells us that there is a rainbow around the throne of Christ (Rev. 4:3). How fitting then, when God promises to give mercy from his covenant throne, that he puts his bow in the clouds, as if to say, "From my majestic and transcendent throne, I will bring my mercy down to you. ( Gen.9:14-16 ). It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. Think about this God led his people out of Egypt and through the wilderness by means of the pillar of cloud. He led them out and through the wilderness for 40 years by means of the pillar of cloud. By this theophany the Lord was promising his people that he would be with them. It is a symbol of his presence and protection. The cloudy pillar shielded God's people from the blistering sun, as well as kept them hidden from the sight of their enemies. Additionally, it served to teach them that God would lead them by a way that they did not know. One of the ways in which believers are to comfort one another in this life, while we await the full revelation of Christ, is to remind each other that when Jesus comes again, Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:17) .Scripture utilizes clouds to symbolize the presence of God. The next time we are tempted to complain about it being a cloudy day, we should pause and consider how the Lord uses clouds to remind us of his imminent presence and the promise of the coming of Jesus.