Looking for the Blessings in the Clouds | Rodney Holmstrom, CR Global Field Director

... “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭‭44‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A small man’s hand?! What a picture we see in this verse! If you want some perspective, walk outside and look at the big sky and imagine seeing a cloud the size of a man’s hand in the distance. Pretty small comparatively isn’t it? Imagine taking as Elijah did, that perspective as a blessing in believing that rain is coming from that small cloud after a long drought.

Sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the obstacles that are sitting in front of us. However, if we can zoom out from the big droughts (struggles) happening in our life, and be intentional and disciplined with gratitude, we then have a greater perspective...and that can be life-giving to us as we face our day.

Does it feel like you’re in a drought and you’re overwhelmed thinking about it? Take a moment and examine those small clouds in your own life that seem so tiny in conjunction and parallel with the big things in front of you. Take time to see His faithfulness, even in the small things, it becomes more bearable to face the struggles happening.

What are those things that God is doing in and through you in the midst of your struggle that you can give him praise for today? Maybe you’re not experiencing those big blessings of the rain yet, but the anticipation and praise given from your heart to God can be oxygen to know that if God has been faithful in even the smallest past moments, He will be faithful in the days to come.

Take some time to see if you can find the small clouds in the big sky of your day that you’re facing. The rain is coming. Stand firm in your faith and walk as you continue to seek Him.


Popular posts from this blog

Out of the Darkness....Into the Light! By Patrick McGinnis

Image
  So, if you recall from last week’s post, a few days prior to landing in the hospital a few weeks ago, Stephanie and I were enjoying God’s amazing underground creation of Linville Caverns, near Linville Falls, North Carolina. It was incredible! So many colors, formations, textures, blind trout, and a “bottomless” lake, which without realization we stood directly over on a narrow walkway, until the tour guide informed us of our position! It was all quite remarkable! The coolest experience, though, was when we went as far into the caverns as was passable. Beyond that, the ceiling quickly reduced to approximately 18” and stayed that way for ½ mile before opening up into another series of caverns. Fun fact! According to the tour guide, in the late 1800’s Thomas Edison traversed that ½ mile of 18” tall crawl space, through several inches of water, in search of platinum necessary for the invention of the light bulb! He didn’t find any, but he did sign the wall of the cavern. Another fun
Read more

Advanced Recovery : A Prelude To Relapse | By Durrell J. - Celebrate Recovery at University Carillon

  “If we stay in the basics, we never have to go back to basics.” That phrase came to me after I had relapsed from over a year of continuous sobriety, and almost 18 months into my recovery. “Relapse is entirely preventable” is the lesson I learned from that experience, and I’m now living that lesson out one day at time. If we are consistent in working our program with our recovery tools, accountability partners, our sponsors, and our Higher Power: Jesus Christ - we will find consistent sobriety and growth in our recovery. If our work is inconsistent however - missing meetings, skipping Daily Inventory, cutting short our prayer time, white-knuckling in isolation - our sobriety and recovery will be inconsistent. We get the results we're working toward. The practices laid out here are simple and straightforward - just the same as the Lord spoke to King Solomon in 1 Kings 9 . God made it plain to Solomon that if he continued to honor and love God, that the Lord would cont
Read more

We're All In | By Pastor Tullian Tchividjian

The word “Recovery” brings to most minds people in recovery programs for things like alcohol or drug abuse, eating disorders, anger management, sexual addiction, those sorts of things. Yet the truth is that we’re all in recovery. We’ve all been hurt and disappointed, we’ve all experienced the disillusionment of unmet expectations, we all have fears and insecurities, we’ve all felt unloved and rejected in some way. And therefore, we all have unhealthy relationships with something or someone we depend on to soothe the pain—to make us feel strong, secure, safe, important, loved, in control. We’re all attached to something we think we need to be happy and content. Your addiction may not be alcohol, but it may be getting approval. It may not be getting high, but it may be getting respect. It may not be sex, but it may be getting attention for the way you look or for your professional achievements. It may not be food, but it may be financial stability. It may not be nicotin
Read more