Waiting for the fog to rise

We are blessed to live between the Lough & the Sea. So there’s often fog in the morning especially when the seasons are changing- from summer to autumn or winter to spring. A couple of mornings this week the fields surrounding our house were clothed in a layer of fog.

Fog can descend on our life too. Looming life changes, stressful events & current news headlines can reduce our clarity & vision. Even our excessive busyness or our poor choices can produce fog.

Fog descended quickly during my Gold Duke of Edinburgh expedition in the Antrim Hills. We followed our path for a couple of hours, trusting our instinct rather than the compass. When the fog lifted, we were right back where we started, having wandered in some convoluted loop!

In this journey we call life, the Bible is our Compass & God is our True North!

So, if we feel like we’re muddling through the middle of fog:
‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.’
(Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)

Sometimes (over)familiar words leave a deeper impression when we read them in a different way:
‘Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD ’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.’
(Proverbs 3:5-6 MSG)

‘When I took a long, careful look at your ways, I got my feet back on the trail you blazed.’
(Psalm 119:59-60 MSG)

In the fog we need to look to God rather than our feelings. We may feel frustrated, fearful & alone.

‘We must navigate by what we know is true no matter what we feel’
(Sheila Walsh)

When we are confused & uncertain in the fog, we can trust that God’s goodness & mercy are following us as we journey. We may need to slow down enough to sense this truth.

And,
‘Sometimes, it’s by walking into that very mist that we grow in ways we never would have otherwise.
Sometimes, it’s through what becomes the fog’s reprieve that we can appreciate the blaze of the sun.’
(Kara Lawler)

When we can’t see clearly because of the fog,
‘God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.’
(CH Spurgeon)

Last month I read through Genesis with She Reads Truth. We followed Joseph’s life through the unexpected fog of slavery & imprisonment. Yet, when the fog lifted,Joseph had the clarity to tell his brothers:
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”
(Genesis 50:20 NLT)

And at the end of his life traversing the fog of deception, wrestling & grief, Joseph’s father Jacob blessed him &said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,”
(Genesis 48:15 ESV)

We need to get to learn to trust our Great Good Shepherd:
‘So let us know and become personally acquainted with Him; let us press on to know and understand fully the [greatness of the] LORD [to honor, heed, and deeply cherish Him]. His appearing is prepared and is as certain as the dawn, And He will come to us [in salvation] like the [heavy] rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.’
(Hosea 6:3 AMP)

In the fog, we can turn our worries into prayers:
‘casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].’
(1 Peter 5:7 AMP)

We can dare to hope in the uncertain days when we can’t see clearly where our next step leads:
‘Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.’
(Lamentations 3:21-23 NLT)

‘And hope is what keeps you going in the fog’
(Emily P Freeman)

When the fog descends may we look away from ourselves & listen for the voice of our Shepherd- who knows us best yet loves us most.

And remember:
‘The fog always rises.’
(Kara Lawler)

Blessings,

Ruthx