August 17

Bright Clouds

While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” — Matt 17:5 BSB

The cloud that descended upon the mountaintop was a symbol of God’s presence. One of the Gospel writers says the disciples were afraid as they saw the cloud cover Jesus and the heavenly visitors. God often comes to us in clouds, and we, too, feel afraid. But when God is in the cloud, there’s no reason to fear. No cloud that carries God’s presence can harm us, and if we listen closely, we may hear words of love.

Sorrow touched by love grows bright
With more than rapture’s ray;
And darkness shows us worlds of light
We never saw by day.

Out of the cloud came a voice affirming Jesus’ divine sonship. The disciples had been shaken by Jesus’ words about His suffering and death. But now, they received reassurance that He was indeed the Messiah, and they were commanded to listen to Him. Even when they didn’t understand, even when His words seemed to destroy their hopes, they were to trust Him.

Sometimes, God’s ways with us seem hard, and we feel like everything in our lives is falling apart. In those times, we must remember that the One who holds all things in His hands is the Son of God, our Savior and Friend. We should never doubt or fear, even when life seems strange and dark. What the disciples couldn’t understand then, we now see as the most glorious and loving wisdom. Likewise, in our hardest trials, there is deep wisdom and love at work. One day we will understand. And just as the voice came from the cloud, so often the tenderest words of God’s love come to us from within the clouds of our own sorrows.