When I first went outside last week, I looked up to an absolutely cloudless sky. I thought of days in my life that have been blessedly cloudless — at least in terms of not having “heavy clouds looming over me” in the form of worries about children, grandchildren, stuff. And, of course, I thought of this old song I heard as a very young child but haven’t heard much in years and years.
Oh, they tell me of a home far away
Oh, they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise
Oh, they tell me of an unclouded day
Oh, the land of an unclouded day
Oh, they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise
Oh, they tell me of an unclouded day
Oh, they tell me of that land far away
Where the tree of life in eternal bloom
Sheds its fragrance through the unclouded day
Oh, the land of an unclouded day
Oh, they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise
Oh, they tell me of an unclouded day
And they tell me that mine eyes shall behold
Where He sits on the throne that is whiter than snow
In the city that is made of gold
Oh, the land of an unclouded day
Oh, they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise
Oh, they tell me of an unclouded day
And His smile drives their sorrows all away
And they tell me that no tears ever come again
In that lovely land of unclouded day
Oh, the land of an unclouded day
Oh, they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise
Oh, they tell me of an unclouded day
Small white clouds over and to the side of my house in an otherwise clear blue sky.
Do you remember the story in 1 Kings 18? Elijah and the prophets of Baal had just engaged in an epic tug-of-war, and God made Elijah gloriously victorious, so much so that “when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, ‘The Lord, He is God. The Lord, He is God.’ (v. 39) But, God still had a lot of work to do on King Ahab and one of the most vivid stories in the Bible happened next. It involved a cloudless day, that suddenly had “a cloud as big as a man’s hand.” I’m so glad that I learned stories such as these when I was a child. They were planted deeply in my heart and come bubbling up just when I need a spiritual reminder.
1 Kings 18:41-46 “Now Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.’ So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he crouched down on the earth, and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’ So he went up and looked and said, ‘There is nothing.’ And he said, ‘Go back’ seven times. And it came about at the seventh time, that he said, ‘Behold, a cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.’ And he said, ‘Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’ So it came about in a little while, that the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel.”
So much sermon material in this passage.
Have you seen something lately that reminded you of a gospel song or a Bible story you heard as a child?