Above the Clouds

Growing up, one of the most frequent songs that we sang at our church as a choir was page #100 in the old red hardback books published by the Church of God - if I'm not mistaking. Anyway, the name of the song was "Lift Me up Above the Shadows." I'm sure it was sung at least once a week in one of the three services and maybe even more. And we still sing it now at least once a month, maybe more.

One of the verses has a phrase in it that says, "lift me up above the clouds Lord, where the pure sunshine is found. Lift me up above my weakness, lift me up into thy strength......" so on and so forth. I've done some research on this song, and from the best I can tell, it was written by a man named Robert Winsett in the year 1922. It's interesting that he wrote that particular phrase in that song way back then....although I'm sure that there's always been the old sayings regarding the sun being beyond the clouds or above them. This thought intrigues me, and I'll tell you why.

On the way home from the quartet convention, driving down the interstate, we were all taking turns reading inside the jacket covers (one of our favorite past times) of all the CDs purchased there. There was quite a variety, so we were well entertained for a decent length of time. It was my turn to read one of the jackets from a CD by the singer Jim Brady. He's the baritone singer from the group known as the Booth Brothers,but he had a solo album that Jeana had purchased, so I was reading the jacket from that. He's a songwriter, so he had written several songs on the album and beside each one, penned some personal notes beside the lyrics. Trying to remember what he wrote in the particular note that I'm referring to is impossible. I simply cannot remember what it said. All I can remember from it was the first 2 lines where he talks about the view from an airplane being above the clouds. He elaborated on that fact and I remember where the thought process went for him and the thought process it provoked in my own head. And although I thumbed through the rest of them, I couldn't tell you anything the rest of the notes said or referred to. I just got stuck in that thought process.

I can recall the first time I flew in a big airplane. I had flown in a small plane before this occasion- on a clear, cloudless day and was so nervous, I couldn't think....so that memory was kinda like a blur! I have pictures to prove it, though, and to help me remember what it was like. Anyway, I took off from the Savannah airport that morning in pouring down rain. Clouds and rain were horrible....which made me even more nervous. I had never flown before, and so it had never occurred to me that it would take mere seconds in flight to get above the storm. I really had never had the need to realize that point.

By the time we took off and I collected my bearings and got brave enough to look out of the window next to me, I realized those heavy rain and storm filled clouds were a LONG way below me. I was in the middle of the air with beautiful skies and a few pretty white clouds floating around us and lo and behold there stood the sun. It was one of the most awesome and beautiful scenes I had ever seen. The atmosphere was no longer cluttered with STUFF and people and anything else you can name. It was just a beautiful blue sky, clouds that looked like little cotton balls everywhere, and me. In the middle of the air. It was a breath-taking experience.

Jim Brady reminded me how awesome that experience was. Thinking about that also reminds me how in my own human-ness, I forget that above the shadows and clouds of circumstance and situations, there is the pure form of SONshine. I forget that more often than I care to admit to you. I get caught up in what is, what might not be, or what isn't and sometimes the clouds threaten to become a full fledge storm.

I know I'm not the only one guilty here! I have had and probably will have other moments before God to confess my instability in the trust department. More than anything, I want to trust and have faith....but there are moments of relapse where I've doubted that God really was gonna "pull through." AS IF HE REALLY HAS TO PROVE ANYTHING TO ME!!! I've found that when I reach that point of doubt and mistrust, EVERY time, without fail, when I came to God with a broken and contrite spirit to confess my sin, it's almost as though I could feel Him begin to lift me right above the shadows and the clouds that were blinding my view of HIM!!! Once you really get a glimpse of what's above the clouds, when they come, you're not content to let them sit over you and constantly block your vision of God.

When it comes to your vision of God, there are many ways that the scriptures refer to Him. He's a Healer, a Father, a Friend, and the list goes on and on, but one of the greatest ways to view God is the way he came to Moses in the form of a burning bush. When Moses asked God how he was going to explain to the people WHO sent him, God said, "I AM THAT I AM." "Just tell them I AM has sent you." That message is not just relevant to Moses back then - as we know for Moses, God came in many forms......But the message is relevant for today....in what form do you need God? He said, "I AM." Do you need a comforter to just hold you in the rough days....He said I AM. Do you need a father to just put His arm around you He's glad you're His.....He said I AM! Do you need a physician better than yours, who can't seem to fix your ails.....He said I AM. Do you need a pilot to lift you above the clouds of doubt and darkness....He said I AM. He is all that you need Him for!!