Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”
1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT
There are wonderful mornings throughout this season when, rising early and drawing back the curtains to my refrain of “Lord, let your light and life fill our hearts and home today”, I am greeted with a fog-filled landscape. The garden is swathed in a blanket of obscurity. Gently as the sun gains strength, this translucent shield is devoured and familiar sights return before my eyes.
Fog is a good metaphor for walking in the wilderness. It is here that familiar forms disappear or take on new and perhaps ominous shapes before my eyes. My imagination can run riot and stir up all manner of fears and anxieties within. While I may convince myself I know the landscape of my faith, as with fog it’s perhaps best to wait for it to lift rather than trust my intuition.
When living in the Midlands many years ago, the local paper reported on a large annual firework display. Unfortunately, part way through a fog descended ending all celebrations. A few people thought they might make their way back to their cars, parked in an adjacent field. Many were the stories of people completely disorientated and lost. Worst was a slow-moving line of cars that had found a road out of the field only to come to a sudden halt as the lead car, whose tail lights the line were following, entered into a large lake. No one was harmed, but the lesson is clear. When we don’t know the way, it’s best to wait it out until we can see clearly.
While I can grasp many aspects of God’s character and discover illustrations of his behaviour throughout scripture, God always has a purpose in mind. And that purpose is not often repeated. God will lead me through the fogs that can cloud my life, yet I must wait upon God for the fog to clear.
QUESTION
Have you experienced fog along your walk of faith?
PRAYER
Lord, you know me completely, and even when I can’t see the path ahead, I trust you.
Photo – Crozier of Cork, Cloyne and Ross diocese
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