This morning I watched the light come into the world. I watched the sky turn from black to grey and become fully light. The sun had risen, once again right on schedule, once again proclaiming the faithfulness of God. It was light out, I knew the sun had risen, I could once again see everything clearly. But the sun, although obviously present, was not visible. The color of my world was not bright and warm, but cool and grey. A cloud cover totally obscured the sun. Although it was there, it was not obvious.
I don’t mind cloudy days. I can handle a few cloudy days in a row. But too many will produce a longing for sunshine, a melancholy that will not be shaken. There is even a malady, Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D. for short) acknowledging that too many cloudy days will create a sad, depressed mood. And when the sun does finally pop out of the clouds after several days of cloud cover, it creates a thrill and an exclamation, “The sun’s out!” I always think a trumpet fanfare should accompany that appearance.
But the truth is that the sun’s been “out” all along. The sun has been present, just obscured. And the presence of God is everywhere all the time, but sometimes he is also hidden, but by his own choice. I want to cry out, “God, come and show yourself! Make yourself obvious! You’re the KING of KINGS, you know!”
And God is strangely, annoying, silent. He stays hidden. It’s his “light touch” approach. Something happened in the garden, so long ago, happened to mankind, God’s creation, that was far more sinister and debilitating than we ever realize. Our creator God has been undergoing a massive restoration process ever since to redeem and rebuild what was destroyed.
Man had been created with abilities that have been stripped from him now, leaving him an effectual cripple. But because we’re all alike, we’re not aware of the handicap. We don’t understand that our senses have been reduced to a mere five—taste, touch, sight, smelling and hearing. The most important sense, faith—the way we relate to God, has been robbed. God is once again teaching us how to use this sense.
God uses the “light touch” because he doesn’t want to overwhelm our freedom of choice. He wants us to develop our faith sense, to choose to believe, to grow in our faith ability. Life is faith therapy! It’s working out in the gym, it’s sweating and breathing hard. It’s a struggle, but it’s worth it.
God, help me to trust you today!