I enjoy flying. Traveling at 30,000 feet provides such a breath-taking view of God’s beautiful creation. On one particular flight, as the pilot started his slow decent, he announced that the weather in Dallas was overcast, muggy and cold. Yet, as we flew high above the clouds, the sky appeared clear and beautiful. The warmth of the sun beamed through the tiny window, and I could see for miles. The land below was covered with a thick layer of clouds resembling a fluffy blanket of pure, white cotton.
The plane tilted and began its dive into the thick, blinding stratum of white. As we entered the clouds, the brightness of the sun immediately turned dim. A thick haze quickly replaced my clear view of the heavens. I could barely see beyond the tip of the wing. For a few minutes, I lost all sense of direction in the confusion of the clouds.
As we slowly descended below the clouds, the murky weather became obvious. I could see the ground, but it was dark and dreary. I realized that this is what sin is like.
Walking with our Father with a pure conscience–blameless and cleansed–is a wonderful gift. We can feel the warmth of his presence and see clearly with eyes of understanding. There’s no confusion, no darkness. All is beautiful in the light of God’s grace.
When we sin, the light and warmth of God’s presence grows dim. We enter into the clouds of confusion and chaos. We can no longer see clearly because the gloomy weather of our soul becomes overcast with guilt and shame. Fear soon follows.
As Ezra prayed, ” . . . our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens” (Ezra 9:6b).
What do we do? How do we respond when flying through the clouds of fear and guilt?
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Our Father is a forgiving Father. There is no God like him. Call upon his mercy. Call upon his strength to pull you up high above the clouds of sin.
Prayer: Father, forgive me of my sin. Thank you that when I confess my sins, you remove them as far as the east is from the west, revealing a beautiful, Son-filled sky.
