Sunny Above the Clouds

Sunny Above the Clouds

By: Chuck Peters

I have been on a lot of flights lately traveling to and from conferences, meetings, and speaking opportunities. While travel can be hard, it gives me time to think fresh thoughts and make observations. 

Something that I know to be true but have recently observed anew is that precipitation comes from clouds. Ok, you already knew that, right? Yeah, yeah… science. But here’s my fresh take on that truth; we are only subject to the rain when we are beneath the rain cloud. 

On a recent trip I boarded my flight on a gray and rainy day. Everyone on the ground was going to have a wet and dreary day. But here’s the thing, as my plane ascended in elevation it broke through the clouds and into the sunshine. I was no longer in the storm; I had risen above it. Up there the sky was blue, and the gray day was forgotten. Now I looked down at the clouds from a new perspective. Same longitude. Same latitude. Different altitude. Different attitude. 

In that moment it struck me: In any and every situation my attitude is affected entirely by my altitude. I can be easily shaken by my circumstances when I am UNDER them. You may have said (in your head or out loud) something like, “How can I be at peace UNDER these circumstances?” Guys, the reminder we need is that our God is never under ANY circumstance. Psalm 97:9 says, “For you, Lord, are the Most High over the whole earth…” 

Sometimes my storms are small, and they blow over quickly. Other storms are big, and high, and seemingly unending. It is harder to rise above the category 4 crises in my life, but since the weather of the world is limited to an earthly atmosphere, and the sun exists outside those limitations, we can say with full confidence that, at some elevation, it is always sunny above the clouds. 

In the same way, no matter how big our burdens, how deep our hurts, how hard our circumstances, God is always above them. It isn’t that He is distant or removed from our situations, He promises to be with us WITHIN the storms of life, but rather that God is bigger than our situations – no matter how big they are. He is greater than our circumstances in power and in perspective. He is never shaken by earthly circumstances. No matter how scary or severe they may seem, He is always over all of them, and never under any of them. Everything we face is from His hand or is filtered through His fingers. He descends into our storms to care for us while we are in them, and to lift us above them.  

Whatever storm you are in today, let me encourage you to not wallow in the weather. Lift your eyes to the skies to see beyond the clouds to the God who is above all and over all and who promises to work it all together for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. Just as the sun is above the storms of earth, God’s Son, Jesus, is above the trials of life. Set your focus on Jesus and rest knowing that He came down to rescue you, in salvation and in your circumstances, so He could lift up anyone who trusts in Him.

Chuck Peters is Director of Lifeway NextGen. Before his role at Lifeway, Chuck had a prolific career in television and video production. He is a 3-time Emmy Award Winning producer, director, writer, and on-screen talent. A graduate of Columbia Bible College, Chuck, and his wife, Cris, have served in Student and Children’s Ministry for many years.