In the Fog
I have blotted out your transgressions like a thick cloud Isaiah 44:22
Thick Cloud – Have you ever been in a fog so thick you couldn’t see the front of your car when you tried to drive? It’s a very scary feeling. At any moment, something might suddenly appear and you will helplessly run into it. American freeways have a history of terrible accidents involving dozens of vehicles when this kind of fog settles in. Imagine that picture and apply it to the experience of the children of Israel at Sinai when God descended on the mountain with a cloud so thick you could see nothing of the slope, only the fire and that terrifying voice. Isaiah recalls this historical event, not to put a chill into the hearts of disobedient men, but to turn the image of ‘av (thick cloud) into a source of rejoicing. God has erased our sins like an impenetrable cloud. They are gone from view. Strain your eyes. Look at hard as you can. You won’t be able to see them. They have disappeared in the fog.
On sunny days in Florida, when I am reminded of my disobedient past, when I am discouraged with my lack of faithfulness and constant spiritual struggles, I need to remember that God put me in a fog. He took all those immoral, sinful, damaging acts and set them in the middle of a thick cloud. They are erased, not just from the ledger of life, but from the sight of the Lord. It doesn’t do me a lot of good to think that God simply took the entry out of the book, but He continues to “see” all my sins. No, they disappeared from sight. Gone into the fog. Lost forever. Hallelujah!
God’s fog is not fearful. It might be disorienting, since most of the time we seem to measure our progress in terms of our failures (You remember that last time you really messed up, right?). But disoriented is perfectly OK if it means that my sins have disappeared from sight. Now that I am in the fog, without the past baggage, I will have to learn to step forward in faith. I can’t see where I am going. There are no past misbehavior markers to set my course. I have to trust Him. He put me here.
I am so glad that God uses metaphors like this one to explain what I need to know about forgiveness. If I am going to have a new life, I need things to disappear. I need to know that erasing is more than scratching out the ledger line. I don’t want to have to look back and be afraid that everyone, including God, will see all my terrible mistakes. A thick cloud is alright with me. I can use a little divine covering if I am going to be able to look forward to life.
The next time that you come face to face with your humiliating past, look for the fog. It’s there, just to the right or left, waiting for you to take a step in that direction. Head for cover. Let God’s thick cloud surround you and watch those terrible past actions disappear from sight. Just sit still and enjoy the relief.
