The Cloud

Within the cloud is a deep, profound 🤫 quiet. The cloud- representing the glory or palpable presence of God. 

I have been in meetings where the congregation entered into worship (with no other agenda than) to draw near to the Lord; I have witnessed, with my natural eyes, the soft white surround of a misty cloud. 

It was dense & pure white and waving my own hand in front of my face, it was barely visible. The people sitting next to me were barely visible within a soft white fog. It was absolutely wondrous. And so, so hushed and quiet! You do not soon forget an event like this. Meetings, in general are not very quiet. Someone is always talking. Oh help us Lord?! 

In Matthew 17: 1-10 Jesus takes 3 disciples into a mountain and is transfigured before their eyes. Moses & Elijah appear & speak with Jesus. Peter, in his befuddlement, eager to explain the unexplainable,  speaks out of turn. Though his response about building tabernacles was a learned response, he was trying to apply an expectation taught to every Jewish young man.... 

Yet, it was not the true or whole message of the visitation...

The transforming message which booms out of the cloud is this; 

"This is my beloved son,

 Hear Him." 

It was Father God, Himself,  who had Tabernacled. with them all, embracing them, within His own Being, within His Holy cloud. 

"Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men." Revelation 21: 3

Father God desires to show the 3 disciples that the coming events of The Passion, are motivated by love, pure love; and to reassure, that they were already spoken of by Moses and Elijah within scripture. This may be why John alone was able to stand with the women at the foot of the cross. The others had fled. John had stood with Jesus within the cloud.

The cloud of God is a place of being embraced by deep love and pure Revelation in the holy fear of God. It is a place to hush up and listen, observe and listen some more. It is a place of saturation. 

I saw the cloud and experienced the cloud before I ever experienced the deep, profound quiet. The deep profound quiet of supernatural listening.

Can you enter the deep profound quiet of being stunned, transfigured, awed into silence, heart softened and pliable by the Radiant sound of HIS VOICE? Are you willing to wait, to wholeheartedly pursue Him? 

First the surround of  comforting Holy Spirit, then the arresting, hallowing silence, then attentive, full focused, awe struck  listening. 

If it weren't possible to individually hear His voice, this scripture and opportunity would not have been highlighted and offered within scripture. Its an offer to come away with Him. "Come away beloved."

Many in the western church have taught that believers only hear from the Lord by following Pastors who truly know God's Word. When actually, we are, each responsible, individually, to come to know Jesus within scripture but

also individually responsible to know His voice. We cannot substitute Pastors word or just scripture alone. We "know in part".

"To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of a stranger." John 10: 3,5

He calls each sheep by name, have you heard Him call your name? In this place of quiet, I have heard Him call me by name...

then, in the quiet, He wrote it, in fire, across my heart. 

It is too profound, I cannot speak it out loud. Yet Jesus spoke it and wrote it, in intimacy, to me alone. No one will ever take that treasure from me! 

You, my child, need to hear your own name. It will take your breath away and noone will ever again cause you to doubt whether you have heard His marvelous sound.

It is a dichotomy of knowing His Word and knowing His voice, distinguishing His voice from all other voices. 

We test all voices against His Word and vice versa, we test our understanding of His Word by hearing His instruction.

We have much "man teaching" which He will refine out of us with His voice. Some man teaching He will confirm and what joy when He does! 

When my husband and I lived back in Orange County, we attended a Vineyard. One of our classes was in Contemplative Prayer. We studied some of the writings ✍ of the desert fathers and other well known books on the subject. We studied scripture, books...

 discussed  and practiced the art of listening to Jesus.

It was more than a class, it was a workshop. We practiced what we learned and shared what we experienced (and heard) in the following weeks. 

We all held each other accountable to God's Word (to see how each "voice" matched God's Word). When there was error we gently and humbly corrected misunderstandings...

 together as we were all learning and the workshop was a safe place.

At our home we welcomed a couple of friends, I would sing a few verses in scripture and then we all went quiet. We were instructed to empty our minds of mental debate & distraction but not to be void...it was to focus on a favorite scripture. 

Our goal was to begin with 20 minutes of quiet. Eventually the quiet times grew. At first 20 minutes was a stretch. When we sensed people were coming out of the quiet, those who desired would share what they heard and saw. 

Without a single contradiction or irregularity we discovered each of us received a corresponding, matching, unifying  focus and directive. 

We discovered we could trust Holy Spirit. This usually led us to prayer for a person or congregational or global event. Sometimes it was just reassurance and pure comfort from the Holy Spirit. 

Such peace saturated our beings that it became difficult to leave that beautiful quiet cloud. 

When our workshop came to an end we invited Father Joseph to instruct and reinforce what we were learning. He was a monk who lived, at that time, at the San Juan Capistrano Mission. 

He was one of us in that he was Spirit filled and trusted Jesus for his salvation.

Father Joseph had trained at the St. Francis of Assissi.monastery. A couple of our group continued to meet with him, to sing and pray with him in the St. Francis of Assisi. Garden. It was a glorious time.

What I can tell you first hand, is that once you have entered into that deep, profound quiet of God's cloud...

 it is difficult to listen to words of vanity. It becomes easier to hear Jesus voice and to discern interference. 

Hearing His voice and meditating on God's Word becomes such a deep pleasure and delight. It becomes a hunger and thirst for His presence and His righteousness.

It most certainly whets your thirst for God's  written Word.

His Word draws you to His voice and His voice causes you to hunger for His Word. The Cloud comforts and surrounds and helps you enter the deep, profound quiet of Holy Spirit.

It's the beginning of mystery & the Holy fear of God.

Out of the cloud, Father God has commanded the blessing, 

"He is my beloved Son, Hear Him."