As we were heading to VBS Wednesday evening, gentle drops of rain began to fall. The sky was full of charcoal greys and blues, and all hues in-between. The cadence of the clouds spoke attentively to the brewing, looming downpours up ahead. The whiteout of the freeway just a mile further gave it away.
Out to right, the western sky moved the clouds in a beautiful cadence to the rays of the sun shimmering into the rain. Whether I wanted to or not, there was no doubt that I was headed right into the stormy gale.
It was a moment that lathered upon itself the unexpected. A tapestry of movement that can have both; brilliant sun shining forth with demand to behold its glory, while at the same time the stormy echo upon the walls of the clouds, demand its voice be heard.
Sure enough, I rode right into the onslaught of the white-out downpour. The windshield wipers were now going faster it seemed, than the cars.
As I gazed out to the west again, noticing the fast moving storm, I caught the brilliant sun again. I saw that the glory of it was about to shine out into the east all the clearer as soon as the storm cloud passed by... this while the downpour was upon me.
"Seth, look... out your window to the east, and watch for the rainbow."
Ducking my head to see through my passenger side window, I caught the beauty of the rainbow that has cascaded across the eastern stormy sky. Beaming with promise's.
Until the perfectly timed, 18 wheeler, began to drive even slower than me right to the side of our car, blocking now our entire view of the rainbow. I couldn't even slow down fast enough to still see it, but rather it was as if he intentionally went my speed so as to maintain the blockage of our view.
Just a glimpse.
Just a glimpse, is all that we saw of that beautifully timed moment. A moment we were even prepared to see coming.
And it was gone.
Or was it?
Was it really gone? Or was it maybe that just the circumstances that met our moment, are what caused it to appear to be gone?
Was this a God sighting?
There is another story that I think of and that is the story of another storm. Another moment when the clouds were blocking the sun and the storm was so torrential that while the men upon the boat were trying to survive it, they were met with what appeared to be a "ghost." But, it wasn't a ghost. It was actually, Jesus. A God sighting. He was walking on the water approaching them in the boat and Peter caught the gaze of Jesus, and with all his faith said, "Master, if it is you tell me to come to you on the water." And Peter did. He got out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But, when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, "you of little faith, " he said, "why did you doubt?"
(Matthew 14)
See, just like Peter who by way of the fear of the wind, the circumstances that rose up against him, blocked his view of Jesus, so do the 18 wheeler size force of circumstances come alongside our life and block our view of our promises in God, too. They obscure and completely many times, eliminate any ability to see the evidence of what it was we know we saw, or what we know we heard, read, believed.... and how does it come, what is at the root of that blocking our view?
Fear. And we make agreement with it by way of our doubt.
It will be and has always been one of the greatest if not the greatest strategy's of the enemy's ways to steal our faith in the promises we have been given. This is one of the reasons Peter was unable to keep walking on the water, the winds of fear hit his back and front so hard that the waves of that fear obscured his view of His savior of which he only moments ago had the faith for.
I pondered, mused over the stormy ride and the promise of His presence and goodness that I felt well up in my spirit; as I saw that after we finally passed that semi, the rainbow had passed too. It was no longer there.
It is easy for one to immediately think, that because my view was obscured, that the moment wasn't really "real." It didn't really happen. Or, if it did, that it didn't really mean anything. It had no real impact, really. And, to conclude that process of thinking I could be deceived into agreeing with the idea that, as a result of that circumstance blocking my view of Him, that he is no longer there. Making it too scary now to "come out on the water's" of life. Letting fear and doubt not only determine my actions, but then empower the lie that He is no longer there in that place for me. Leaving me to tend to a storm that is nothing but filled with fear and doubt, "alone". That it just might have been a "ghost" sighting, instead.
But, isn't that just actually more ridiculous than believing what I know I saw, and that is that I saw an entire rainbow filled with promise stretched across the entire eastern sky, just moments prior? That, what God wanted to speak in that short moment was actually a word for a lifetime? That, maybe that window of time, that opened in the sky's was a window of time opening from the heaven's to remind me that, semi size circumstances cannot take away what I know to be there?
That He is with me through every storm... and every scary sky and horizon? Through every wind that comes against me?!?
God sightings!
And if you have one, let me know... I'd love to hear from you!
