The Right Side of the Cloud
By L. A. S.
THE same cloud which cast darkness over the Egyptians by the Red Sea, gave light to the camp of Israel. The mighty purposes of God were being carried into execution, and the divine power and wisdom were manifested in signs and wonders. The Israelites were fulfilling the purposes of God, the Egyptians were working against his purposes. To the Israelites, all that God did was light in the darkness, and deliverance from their troubles. To the Egyptians, all God’s working was mystery, darkness, perplexity, a source of confusion and stumbling. To-day, in this final hour of time, many and wonderful are the manifestations of God’s working in behalf of his people. The cloud of God’s providence comes near to all, but not all are on the right side of the cloud. To some it is a cloud of darkness, a source of obscurity and perplexity, a cause of stumbling. While some see plainly the leadings of God’s providence, and rejoice in the evidence of God’s guiding hand and the omens of coming victory, others get no light from the experiences that come to the church as a whole or to themselves individually, and by that very fact are left in greater darkness than before. The providences of God are not discerned as such, but appear to them to be something else; and they wander about in uncertainty, and erelong lose their bearings entirely, and become stragglers in the rear of Christ’s army, an inviting mark for the shafts of the vigilant foe. When the very thing that should be light to an individual is darkness to him, his darkness is impenetrable. Even Jesus Christ, the light of the world, was “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” to the unbelieving Jews, because they would not rightly relate themselves to the wonderful providence which had come in touch with their lives. If you are in darkness, get out of the camp of the Egyptians, and go over to the camp of Israel. Do not try to make the darkness turn to light, or to solve the mysteries of divine providence from the standpoint of the Egyptians, but betake yourself at once to the right standpoint, and the mysteries will solve themselves. For seen from the camp of Israel, the cloud which hides the presence of God is always a pillar of light, and by its guiding, the pilgrim is safely led in the pathway to the heavenly Canaan. L. A. S.