“When God Speaks” by Reva Lachica Moore
(Written – 2017)
In 2002, I had been pleading with God for a couple of days for something that deeply troubled me, and as I stepped out of the chemical laboratory building that morning, I saw a most unusual and frightening sight. From the top of the chemical plant structures, thick smoke was pushing through. It was so enormous and though it looked scary, I stood there to figure out what it was. The smoke stretched sideways for as far as I could see, and it was coming toward the laboratory. In a matter of minutes, it passed above our building, moving away quite fast. I realized then it was a column cloud. It was so low that it filtered through the structures. At that moment, I felt God had answered my earnest pleas, which He truly did.
God speaks in a multitude of ways: through a still, small voice, through nature, and the like. When I read His Word, or when I listen to a sermon, I hear Him “tug” at my heart. Whenever I’m too preoccupied with things, a picture would suddenly come to my mind reminding me to slow down and pay attention to the people around me.
God is the Master at getting our attention. He got the attention of Moses through a burning bush that never burned up (Exodus 3:1-6).
God spoke through the fleece of a sheep when He gave Gideon confirmation of His promise to win the battle for Israel against a far superior enemy. Judges 6:37-40
After we lost our home in that epic Louisiana flood last August, we saw how God had planned way ahead of time for us. We finally understood why my oldest son did not build his house 5 miles away after we had asked him to live nearby. But he kept his first house as a rental property when he bought his second house. But there were renters in it. What should he do? God already planned that ahead, too. A week before the flood, my son closed on another rental property that was better suited for the renters. He helped the renters move to the other house so we could live in his first house. This is still where we live today.
The following day as I walked to the car, I saw a most wonderful sight. (God knows I love clouds.) My eyes were drawn to the sky and I saw beautiful clouds. “Thank You, Lord, we now have a home.”
Two days later, on our way home from the grocery store, it showered. When we reached our driveway, another beautiful sight awaited us. A rainbow above the rooftops! It reminded me of God’s promise in Genesis 9:14, 15… “And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud. And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.” I took the rainbow as a great sign from God.
A week later, we met with the contractor and the cabinet man who are rebuilding our flooded house. We were inside our home for around half an hour. After the men left, and as we looked around, my husband felt sudden emotions. He said he misses the old house and wishes to go back and live there. But I was not as enthusiastic. We prayed right there and then asking God to let us know without a hint of doubt if we should go back after the house is rebuilt.
As we were driving in our street a few minutes later, my eyes were suddenly drawn to another amazing sight. The sky was covered with the most beautiful, thick, cirrus clouds. I have never seen clouds like these in Louisiana. Could that have formed while we were inside our house? If the clouds were already there, we would have noticed them on our way to there. In Louisiana, clouds usually mean “rain” later. But not this time. It has not rained for over a week and today, there are no clouds in the sky. God is still in charge of the weather, and I am taking that as a positive sign from Him. I believe God was speaking to us, like He did during the Bible times when He spoke to the Israelites:
Exodus 13:21 “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night.”