God in the Fog

The fog was bad this week. (Not the brain fog, the actual literal fog. Although the brain fog was up there too.) We are in winter here in Australia at the moment, and oh boy, you can really tell. The morning temperatures are freezing, there’s frost on the ground and on my windscreen, and my fingers turned to icicles during my commute which was enough to drive me to despair (pun intended).

But the cold weather brought some cool things along for the ride. We had a particularly cold morning this week, and I noticed as I drove past some wide open farmland on the way to work that the fields were no longer visible. A dense cloud of fog had descended over the world, and my surroundings were whited out. I could see a few ghostly trees hovering by the side of the road, and I could see the highway before me. But everything else vanished.

It was both cool and eerie at the same time.

I turned my lights on and carefully watched the car in front of me, making sure I didn’t get too close. I wasn’t stressed but I was certainly on a higher state of alert than normal. I was prepared to brake at any time, ready for the situation to get worse at a moment’s notice.

God was with me in the car as I navigated my way through that fog. It served to remind me of times in my life when God has helped me through other foggy situations. I’ve had many times, as I’m sure you have, when all the good things in my life seemed to vanish, my heart filled with coldness and despair, and I feel slightly panicked about not being able to find my way out. God has been with me in those situations as well. And he has been with you.

Fog comes and goes. It is a temporary situation. I remembered that as I drove to work on that white-out day, because sure enough, after about twenty minutes, the fog thinned out and I could see my surroundings. The trees reappeared, healthy and whole. My body relaxed. My eyes stopped straining. My state of alertness dropped back to normal. I knew I’d be OK.

When foggy situations descend upon us, the landscape can quickly change. Things can get a bit eerie. We might go into a state of alertness or stress. If the fog becomes all consuming, it can be hard to believe that it will ever dissipate. We might despair of ever finding our way out.

If that’s you today, may this serve as a reminder that fogs do lift and God is with us in the fog. He hasn’t left us, even if he seems as invisible or ghostly as the misty trees. He will remain by our sides as we navigate our way through.

May God breathe upon the fog in your life today, driving it away.

Has there been any fog in your life lately? How do you cope when you can’t see where you’re going? Does God’s presence help? Share your story. Let’s have a countercultural conversation.