Articles

Don’t Fear Cloudy Days

Listen for Him and trust that He is in the cloudy days, even when He can’t be seen.

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Published

8 years ago

August 17, 2015

Mandy Pagano

The past month has been so full.

While this time has been ripe with growth and forward progress in many areas, it’s also held its share of trying times and what I call “fogginess.” This fogginess almost always follows a time of closeness with the Lord; a feeling of “being on top of the mountain.” It’s very frustrating to go from a time of intense closeness with God to a time where it feels like God is far away and it’s hard to pray. I’ve experienced this before, but this time, I felt God led me to something that gave me a greater perspective.

I read Matthew 17 one day, and I felt a glimmer of clarity pierce through the fog. This chapter of the Bible talks about Peter, James, and John witnessing Jesus during the transfiguration. I wrote about this in my last post here. What I hadn’t keyed in on until this moment was critical:

While he [Peter] was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Don't Fear Cloudy Days I was overjoyed to realize that the Lord was in the cloud, just as He had been when He led the Israelites through the desert. I enjoy sunshine on a beautiful day and when things in my life are going smoothly. I’d prefer those days to any, but I’m learning that it’s during those “cloudy” days that I need to listen to the Lord and lean into Him.

When I’m feeling foggy, or cloudy, my knee-jerk reaction is to panic. I get emotional and start questioning the Lord. I feel overwhelmed. What I should be doing is listening for Him and trusting that He is in the fog, even if I can’t see Him. Just as He told Peter, James, and John on the mountain in Matthew 17, I must listen to Him.

If every day was sunny and every season of my life easy, I wouldn’t grow. I wouldn’t feel the need to stretch myself and trust in Him. I am learning to embrace these seasons of “fogginess” so that I can grow in my faith and in my trust in the Lord. I no longer have to fear the cloud because I know He is in it.

“By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” Exodus 13:21

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Mandy Pagano

Mandy is wife to Joe and mom to 6 children ages 2 to 9 years. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and was pursuing a master's in elementary education when baby number 6 threw a monkey wrench in her carefully laid-out plans. So instead of teaching a classroom of children, God pressed on her heart to homeschool her oldest three, act as the coordinator for her local MOPS, and blog her heart out at Suburban Stereotype, Deliberate Women, and The Time-Warp Wife. Mandy feels compelled to live a life of faith in God with boldness and diligence and encourages other women to do the same. She and her family live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where they juggle soccer schedules, teach Sunday school at their church, and try to squeeze every moment out of the day. Find Mandy on Facebook and Twitter.

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