There Are Blessings in the Cloud

We will face many clouds in our lives, but God set His bow in the cloud as a promise to us. So look for the rainbow in the clouds of life.

Key Verse-Gen 9:13 Amplified Bible

Cloud-visible water particles.

Without rain-clouds we would never see the beautiful rainbow.

Rainbow- a bow or arc of prismatic colors appearing in the heavens opposite the sun and caused by the refraction and reflection of the sun's rays in drops of rain.

Genesis 9:12-1712 And God said, This is the token of the covenant (solemn pledge) which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I set My bow [rainbow] in the cloud, and it shall be a token or sign of a covenant or solemn pledge between Me and the earth. 14 And it shall be that when I bring clouds over the earth and the bow [rainbow] is seen in the clouds,

15 I will [earnestly] remember My covenant or solemn pledge which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy and make all flesh corrupt. 16 When the bow [rainbow] is in the clouds and I look upon it, I will [earnestly] remember the everlasting covenant or pledge between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 17 And God said to Noah, This [rainbow] is the token or sign of the covenant or solemn pledge which I have established between Me and all flesh upon the earth.

God said He would never destroy the earth with a flood again, however, He never said floods wouldn't come. In order to have floods or rain there first have to be clouds. God said in verse 14 that when clouds come, and the rainbow is seen by Him, that He will remember His promise to us. There are always going to be clouds in our life. Clouds of despair, clouds of doubt, clouds of fear, clouds of worry, clouds of temptation, clouds of trial, clouds of adversity, clouds of loneliness, clouds of depression, and so on, but God promised to set "His bow in the cloud" Gen 9:13. So whatever cloud we are under there will always be a rainbow in the end.

We naturally don't like it when our sunny day is taken over by clouds; when we see rain on the way, but the earth needs rain for things to grow and God knows how much it needs. Likewise, our spiritual earth needs rain for things to grow, things like patience, longsuffering, love, peace, joy, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, all the fruits of the Spirit need rain to help them grow and God knows exactly how much each fruit needs. Without rain our fruit can't grow, we will die spiritually.

Clouds are not necessarily bad. There are three different types of clouds in the physical realm. 1).Cumulus Clouds-These arethe big white fluffy clouds that look like huge cotton balls. The word Cumulus is derived from the Latin word for "heap" or "pile." They usually form when warm, moist air is forced upward. When this air rises it cools, and if it cools below its dew-point temperature, condensation occurs.

Their size depends on the force of upward movement of air as well as the amount of moisture in the air. The largest of these clouds are caused by very strong upward movements of warm, moist air. One form of Cumulus clouds, called Cumulonimbus, produces heavy thunderstorms in the summer time. Cumulonimbus clouds may stretch upward for hundreds of meters.

2). Stratus Clouds-the word Stratus is derived from the Latin word that means "to spread out." These are horizontal layered clouds stretching out across the sky much like a blanket. If a layer of warm, moist air passes over a layer of cool air, Stratus clouds can form where these layers meet. When two such layers of air meet, and the warm air is cooled below its dew-point temperature, the extra water vapor will condense to form a blanket, sort of like layers of Stratus clouds. The Stratus clouds can stretch for many kilometers across the sky if the layers are very large.

3). Cirrus Clouds- The word Cirrus is derived from the Latin word for a tuft of hair. These clouds are feathery looking and they form only in high altitudes, about 7 km above the earth's surface. They are made of ice crystals and they are so thin that sunlight passes right through them. Likewise there are different types of spiritual clouds.

Gen 9:13-I set my bow [rainbow] in the cloud, and it shall be a token or sign of a covenant or solemn pledge between Me and the earth. There are promises to found in the clouds.

Ex 13:21-The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.God leads us with clouds.

Ex 13:22 - The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. God is with us in the cloud.

Ex 14:19 - And the Angel of God Who went before the host of Israel moved and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before them and stood behind them, There are Angels of protection in the cloud.

Ex 14:20 - Coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. It was a cloud and darkness to the Egyptians, but it gave light by night to the Israelites; and the one host did not come near the other all night. The cloud hides us from the enemy.

Ex 14:24 - And in the morning watch the Lord through the pillar of fire and cloud looked down on the host of the Egyptians and discomfited [them], The cloud confuses the enemy.

Ex 16:10- And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud! The glory of the Lord appears in the cloud.

Ex 19:9 - And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you and believe you and remain steadfast forever. Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.The Lord speaks to us in the cloud.

Ex 19:11 - And be ready by the third day, for the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai [in the cloud] in the sight of all the people.The Lord reveals Himself to the body of Christ in the cloud.

Ex 19:16 - The third morning there were thunders and lightenings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. The Lord is recognized and feared in the cloud.

Ex 24:15 - Then Moses went up into the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The Lord covers our Shepherd (Pastor) with the cloud.

Ex 24:16 - The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day [God] called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.The Lord calls to us in the cloud.

Ex 24:18 - Moses entered into the midst of the cloud and went up the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and nights. Our Pastor enters the presence of the Lord in the cloud.

Ex 33:9 - When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the door of the tent, and the Lord would talk with Moses. The Lord hovers over and talks to our Pastor in the cloud.

Ex 33:10 - And all the people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the tent door, and all the people rose up and worshiped, every man at his tent door.The Lord is to be worshiped in the cloud.

Ex 34:5 - And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord descends in th cloud.

Ex 40:34 - Then the cloud [the Shekinah, God's visible presence] covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle! The cloud is God's visible presence.

Ex 40:35 - And Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud remained upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. The glory of the Lord fills the church in a cloud.

Ex 40:36 - In all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the Israelites went onward; The Israelites moved only when the cloud moved.

Ex 40:37 - But if the cloud was not taken up, they did not journey on till the day that it was taken up. The Israelites stayed put if the cloud did not move.

We can see from these verses that God comes in the clouds. He leads us, speaks to us, protects us, hides us, shows us His glory, and much more. We need to be grateful for the clouds in our life because God means them for good. Also, if we can begin to recognize the different types of clouds maybe we can understand better what that particular cloud means for our life and praise God in the cloud by remembering His promise of the rainbow in the cloud. He said He would never put on us any more than we can bear. Look for the sunshine and rainbow in your cloud. There are blessings in the clouds!

References-Amplified Bible