Does it ever seem as if a black storm cloud is hovering above you, tracing your every move? You dart right and left trying to get away, but it follows you with ease. Even when you venture inside, it clings. You plod on, and still it lingers. In these situations, it’s easy to blame circumstances and even easier to blame the people around you for the mess of your life. You think if only this would just happen, things would be better. Or if only he would leave you alone, you wouldn’t have such problems.
When I’m in these situations, I find that my restlessness, unease, and general unhappiness isn’t actually caused by the aforementioned storm cloud, it is because I am not right with God. It is because I am not following His commandments, not asking for His forgiveness, not making Him the center of my life, not living to glorify Him.
And that’s when things get better: when I realize I am not following God’s ways and when I seek reconciliation. That doesn’t mean the loathsome cloud goes away; the people and circumstances in my life may or may not change. But I am filled with joy and peace because I have confidence that God works everything in my life for good; and I have hope, because behind the cloud I know there is the promise of God’s sunshine.
