Exodus 40:36-38

Exodus 40:36-38
English Standard Version (ESV) 

  I don't really know what to say.  Scores have been killed, hundreds wounded, and there seems to be no explanation given.  Not that an explanation is going to make any of this better -- the deaths will still be senseless tragedies, lives stolen too soon, leaving behind friends and families to grieve what once was and what will never be.
  The Scriptures assure us that God will never leave nor forsake us, that our presence in the depths of the valley of the shadow of death will not be without God at our side.  It's hard, though, to sense the presence through the tears and the heartache, and we so deeply long for understanding that we struggle to grasp the presence of God in the midst of tragedy and chaos and death and pain.
  The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years, and throughout that time they were led by a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.  For the Israelites, it was surely a comforting reminder of the presence of God, as well as a useful guide in a time well before the advent of GPS and smartphones and maps.  The pillars served as a visual reminder of the presence of God.
  A stranger, however, might just think that it was a cloud.  Someone unfamiliar with what the cloud meant might think that this was just a mist, a shroud to confuse people caught in its midst.  They might wonder why someone would follow a cloud when it was easier to see away from the cloud.
  It's easy to wonder what God is doing in the world.  It's easy to question what the end goal is, and how we're going to get there when there is so much violence and heartache.  It feels as though there is a cloud of chaos sitting upon us, and it's challenging to hope for the fog to clear.  So much seems senseless right now.
  The Israelites, too, had their moments of weakness, when they wondered if God was still with them.  He was, and he is now, I believe.  I'm hoping for a reminder of the mission of the church, of the promise of healing, of the redemption that is found in Christ.  I need a reminder that the God who endured the cross continues to be present in the ambiguity, in the clouds of today, and that there is certainty in the resurrection, in the hope of tomorrow.  The chaos of today will not break our hope, but we as the church will stand firm and certain in the assurance of resurrection and proclaim our common hope that God is with us and that he rushes into the pain. 
  It's a hard thing to grasp, especially in the midst of so many heartbreaking stories, but I will continue to believe that even though I cannot see through the clouds.  Often the Israelites had to remain in one place for days, waiting for God to signal a way forward.  So I will sit and wait, trusting in God that he will continue to speak and will, one day, signal a way forward that will make things clear and continue the journey.