by Elizabeth Haarberg

Finding our true refuge in life.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

In the Old Testament, God comes in the form of a cloud to Moses and the Israelites.

“Yahweh then said to Moses, ‘Look, I shall come to you in a dense cloud so that the people will hear when I speak to you and believe you ever after.'”
Exodus 19:9

Moses relayed the information to God’s followers, but they were afraid.

So the people kept their distance while Moses approached the dark cloud where God was. (Exodus 20:21)

All the people could concentrate on was the darkness, noise, and fire on the mountain.

Moses went up the mountain. Cloud then covered the mountain. The glory of Yahweh rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. To the Israelites, the glory of Yahweh looked like a devouring fire on the mountain top, and Moses went right into the cloud where he stayed for forty days and forty nights. (Exodus 24: 15-18)

Moses found his true home with God on the mountain. He finally found where he belonged.

Today, fog and clouds can be frightening. We don’t know what is on the other side of the darkness. What if the road drops off? What if there are people ahead that want to hurt us? What if…?

The Israelites were so focused on the clouds, and all the noise on the mountain, that they forgot that it was God who rescued them from Egypt. He led them to freedom. He loved them so much that he performed miracle after miracle, to show how much he wanted them to thrive in His presence. He wanted a relationship with them.

In this photo, taken by my sister Maggie, beyond the trees and fog is… home: a ranch and refuge in Rosie, Arkansas. I know what lies beyond the trees. It’s familiar. It’s where I learned to love, work, and thrive.

What if beyond the scary fog, and noise of life, lies our true refuge? The Love of this world is waiting to wrap us in His arms and tell us how much He loves us.

Keep your eyes on God and not the circumstances of life. This is how we rise up to the mountaintop of relationship with the King of the Universe.

All we have to do is receive His love.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado