in the dark cloud

This morning I am really just wishing that I could see Jesus. Reading the Gospel of Mark (6:53-56) and picturing all of the people recognizing Him, then scurrying around the countryside to gather the sick, to carry them to Him, because they knew that with a simple touch of His cloak, they would be healed....I just wish it were that simple. Because it sounds easy, doesn't it? And maybe it wasn't because I mean, really, what do I know? But if you read the Gospels, there is no denying that Jesus is a healer and a miracle worker, and so I am wishing this morning that bringing him the sick were as easy as putting them on a mat and carrying them to Him; that touching only the tassel on His cloak, all of the pain and sickness would be gone, the open wounds bandaged and healed.

And then I wonder...were there any sick who refused the healing? Was there any resistance in getting on that mat and being brought to the One who could heal them? You do not read about the leper who refuses the cleansing, or the blind who turn their face away from the mud. So why do we refuse and turn away from Him now?

It seems like so many are suffering, living life barely, because they just can not get themselves on that mat. Because for reasons I will never understand they do not want to come face to face with their healer. And for those who love them, it can feel like from morning to night we live in the dead center of a dark cloud; a cloud that is so all consuming it makes doing anything besides wishing Jesus would show up and heal it all, feel utterly impossible. And if it were not for Scripture reminding this morning that, "The Lord intends to dwell in the dark cloud" (1 Kings 8: 9-13) I just might still be stuck in this place of wishing. But instead, He has regained my strength and renewed my hope and while I would still really like it, and not complain at all, if Jesus walked into my living room right now waving His tassels holding a mat and saying, "Let's do this!" I can at least find rest for my weariness on this soft cloud, knowing He fills it. I can at least know that if I am in the dark cloud, I to not dwell here alone.