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“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”  Hebrews 12:11

My home is about a block from a public lake dock, which sets a daily stage to admire the handiwork of God at both sunrise and sunset. Many mornings, I have literally had my breath taken away by the stunning array of colors and layered ethereal textures (as evidenced by the photo above). I once read that John Piper refers to God’s daily sky painting for His glory and our awe…he wrote about how the sunset we observe seems to “end” as the sun drops below the horizon (or the glorious sunrise fades as the sun ascends)…but a little further west (or east, as with the rise) the sunset is just beginning! God is always—24/7/365—creating a “Him-glorifying” sky. Like I said, these daily scenes are just a 3-minute walk from my door…but I don’t often choose to take those steps, look up, and appreciate the majesty of it all.

Each week, I spend time with some precious sisters to study God’s Word. We meet up at 7am and, depending on the season, the sky is just waking up. Not long ago, my friend Missy arrived a bit early and walked down to the dock to catch the sunrise. The sky, of course, changed from one stunning color to another as she gazed over the water. Picturesque, yes, but not really gasp-level. When we were talking about the various degrees of sunrise awesomeness, we noted that this particular morning was clear…and Missy made a simple, yet profound, statement: “Well, the beauty comes from the clouds, right?”

We all looked at each other with a different kind of God-glorifying gasp—recognizing the mic-drop truth of this statement in the lives of believers. Just listen to the words of Peter…

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

And from James…

 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).

The beauty comes from the clouds, indeed. In this life, we will have troubles as Jesus promised. But praise Him, He has overcome the world. Even as justified, blood-bought righteous people, we battle in this world against the desires of our flesh, the dark world system, and our enemy, the devil. But God takes all of it in His loving hands (and as he has intended from eternity past) and transforms it into something glorious. Every trial, every tear, every dark moment of the soul. His love for us shines through it like the sun through the clouds at dawn…and we burst forth in the joy of it all. If, that is, we choose to take the steps toward Him, look up, and appreciate the majesty of it all (Romans 5:1-5).

“Lord, help me see that the clouds of my life are there to create something even more beautiful—brilliant colors amid the pain, magnificent textures of joy through the challenges. All of it for Your glory.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life