Through The Fog

A few weeks ago, my cousin and I went hiking at a place she'd been telling me about for a while, and was excited to show me: Natural Bridge State Resort Park in Kentucky. When we arrived, the park was shrouded in fog. She expressed her disappointment, that it looked nothing like it did when she was there just a few weeks before. I assured her that even though I wasn’t seeing it as she had, and vistas were certainly obscured, it was profoundly speaking to me. There is something beautiful and mysterious about fog, and while I’m not a professional photographer, it often makes for the most interesting photos.

But it was more than that. There are lessons God offers us in the fog.

Life can often feel like we’re walking through it in the fog, right? The world around us is unclear and we can’t see more than a few steps of the path in front of us. That can feel downright scary. I felt that the most when we were on the top of the bridge, knowing that we couldn’t see with our eyes what we knew was true: it was a long fall down to certain death if we misstepped over the edge into the unknown.

Yet as Christians, the fog is a perfect metaphor for one of my favorite verses from 2 Corinthians 5:7: “…for we walk by faith, not by sight.”

In the fogginess of life, we’re acutely aware of our limitations. We don’t have all the answers, nor can we see the full picture of God’s plan. This lack of clarity and understanding can tempt us to doubt and be filled with anxiety, and even make the wrong step out of God’s plan for us. But The Word of God reminds us that God sees what we can’t. Proverbs 3:5-6 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him, and he will make straight your paths.” He will make your paths straight. Now that’s a comforting promise!

The fog isn’t a sign that we’re alone, lost, or that God has abandoned us; it’s an invitation to trust Him more deeply. I don’t know about you, but I need to read that again: The fog isn’t a sign that God has abandoned us; it’s an invitation to trust Him more deeply.

The haze can also offer us the gift of slowing down, especially in this fast-paced, full and often distracting world we live in.

Enshrouded in fog as my cousin and I were, we had to slow down, and that enabled us to see things we wouldn’t have otherwise, or even from a different perspective. It’s the same in life: the haze of uncertainty can sometimes be God’s way of causing us to slow down and get quiet so we can hear Him speaking to us. God is not loud. He speaks to our hearts, in a whisper. In this slowed down quiet place and time, He’ll give us direction and remind us of His promises of help and hope, comfort and joy, peace and provision, direction and timing. The story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19: 11-13 comes to my spirit:

11 And he [God] said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

It’s so natural for us to want clarity, quick answers, and immediate direction, but there’s “beauty in the blur”. The next time you find yourself peering through life’s fog, remember: God is with you, Emmanuel. You may not see Him clearly, but He is always there, faithful and true, loving you and guiding you every step of the way. Remember His promise in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Clear skies or enshrouded in fog, may you feel God's loving presence right next to you, and my prayers for you, Cindy