Theres Hope in the Cloud Part 3 of 3

This is the last posting on "There's Hope in the Cloud".  You might be asking what is the cloud then? Let's look at the life of Moses. He grew up in a rich environment. He had wealth, success, etc. He knew how to live like a king but after an encounter with the Lord he was chosen to take the people to the promised land. In Exodus 33:14 the Lord tells Moses that he will send his presence with him and will give him rest. Moses replies "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here". Put yourself in his position. You have been called and chosen by God to lead people to the promised land from slavery after 400 years. Then you say you will rather stay where you're at if your not in his presence.  He was not looking for a fix, he was looking for a relationship with God. He could have just settled for a quick fix to be set free from his circumstances (the desert) but he chose to stay connected with him. Its possible for us to be walking in God's plan but not be in his presence. God's plan was for Israel to be set free, but Moses chose his presence with him.  Joshua understood this, because he stayed around the tent during God's visitation.

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. "8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. 11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent." - Exodus 33:8-11

This is a huge. It's not enough to just recognize his presence. We have to host it also. Dwell in it! When we do that, we give everything about ourselves every aspect of our lives to have hope. Bill Johnson says "Any area of a persons life that's not under the influence of hope is under a influence of a lie". If you can not see hope during circumstances, in the promises of God, I would suggest to you, get in his presence. When we get in his presence we will find his love for us!! His love is Jesus! Christ in you, the hope of Glory!

Theres Hope in the Cloud Part 2 of 3

On my last posting I wrote about seeing hope in the cloud in the midst of your circumstances. This time I would like to talk about seeing God's promises in the cloud.

When God gives you a promise, he has already set something in motion for it to come to pass. It is up to us to align ourselves to what God is doing to attain it. When God gave Abraham a promise he said to him "I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies" Genesis 22:17. Now lets move forward to when Jesus was born and the wise men followed the star of Bethlehem. Is it possible that the star was created when the promise was given to Abraham? If that is the case, hope lingered through thousands of years since the promise was given. Jesus and his descendants are Abraham's seed. That's the promise that was given many years ago to him. Why I bring this up is that I think stars are symbolic of God's promises. They are always there, but the clouds hide them during the day. When we hold true the promises of God, you may not understand how they will come to pass. Nevertheless, you have to grab hold of the hope associated with the promises or you will miss it. Abraham did not understand how the promise God gave him would come true, but he stood fast on his promise and had his son, the first of many descendants through Christ that were promised him.

In Exodus 19:9 God told Moses "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you". When he did in Exodus 20, the people rejected him. He wanted to talk to them directly. His attention was not to depend on Moses but to have a relationship with them. The people did not want that and grieved God's heart and therefore the promise was delayed. When you receive a promise of God, how you perceive it can determine how you respond to it. Fast forward ahead, at the mount of transfiguration where God came in the cloud and spoke about his son. At first they were afraid, but Jesus assured them not to be afraid. When they looked up, Jesus was the only one left. I believe He had to be the only one left because he represented hope.

I feel that every person on this earth has cloud of promises that covers them filled with hope. If we look we will see Jesus the hope of Glory. But its up to us to grab it.

Theres Hope in the Cloud Part 1 of 3

When you get to know me, you find that I look at life with the glass half way full instead of half way empty. Hope is a core value in my life because I always look for cloud. Looking at the cloud is what keeps me going. I have observe 3 views of this:

1. The cloud in circumstances
2. The cloud in the promises of God
3. Staying in the cloud

That I will talk about each of these in 3 different blog entries. But Lets begin with seeing the cloud in the mist of circumstances.

All of us no matter where are at we all have to deal with some type of circumstance in our lives. Weather your dealing with our kids fighting in the back of the car and your stuck in traffic, to looking for the next check in the mail to pay for your light or they will turn it off. Everyday life throws all types of issues but is how we respond to it.

This reminds me of a 1 Kings 18. There was a famine in the land and the Ahab was looking for ways to keep the nation a float. But the prophet Elijah came with the a different perspective. He had a heavenly view of the situation. Not only he was able to show the sin issues, but he was able to hear the rain before the cloud came. He brought hope to the land because he knew where to get from. If we look for hope in other places then we are using human reasoning which only temporary. When your eyes are focused cloud, then you will find an abundance rain(blessings) no matter what problems you have.

Another great example finding hope in the cloud is when Israel was in the desert under the heat. In Exodus 13:21 got sent a pillar of cloud to guide them in their way. So not only he gave them hope during the desert but it guided them also.

Since the beginning of the this school year I can hear the sound of rain. I have had many challenges during this year but my focus is seeing the cloud. Friends, No matter where you are at, God has sent his cloud ahead of us and wants to bless us abundantly.