Happy Saturday

The Dark Cloud

2 Chronicles 6:1 (NCV) 
1 Then Solomon said, “The LORD said he would live in the dark cloud.

Psalm 18:11 (NASB95)
11 He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

Many people, even Christians, go through what they feel like are dark clouds sometimes. Trouble seems to come from all sides. WE might feel lonely, depressed, in despair, in agony or one of many different feelings. We don’t know why we are going through these circumstances and may want to give up but we can take comfort that God will be there in our dark clouds. Just because we are in a cloud doesn’t necessarily mean that God has left us even though we may feel like He has at the time. Jesus himself told those of us who belong to Him that He will never forsake us. Take heart, the clouds will vanish in God’s time. Until that happens, let God refresh your soul through prayer, Bible study and meditation. We need these more in these times in the clouds than when we have blue skies.

When we are in the dark cloud we may not know why we are there but, like Spurgeon, we may find out later how this time can be used by God:

Spurgeon once tells of how he was utterly depressed in spirit and soul, discouraged, and failing in health. Just before leaving for a recuperation, he preached on “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The experience was so sad that he wished it would never happen again. Afterwards, a man come to see him. Spurgeon described him later as “one step away from the insane asylum,” his head bulging, his hands nervous and his spirit totally depressed. The man told Spurgeon that after hearing his sermon, he felt that Spurgeon was the only one who could understand him and so he had come. Spurgeon comforted him as best he knew how from his own sad experience. For five years, Spurgeon did not see the man. But “just last night” (he was delivering the above lecture to students at the College), “I saw him: it was like night and day. He was completely changed.” Spurgeon concluded that he was willing to undergo hundreds of such experiences now that he knew God permitted it to happen so that he could know and sympathize with people under similar predicament. - -taken from Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations

by Dean W. Masters

Daily Smile:

Maggie, a dog who had worked with police investigation team, applied for vacancy in the FBI. He went and met the HR. The HR said, "You'll have to meet some strict requirements. First, you must type at least 60 words per minute." Maggie sat on the typewriter and typed 80 words per minute. Then HR asked "you must pass a physical test and complete the obstacle course." Again, Maggie did well in the round. Then HR asked, there's one last requirement," "you must be bilingual." With confidence, the dog looks up at him and says, "Meow!"