Like many people, one of the first things I do when I wake up in the morning is to look out the window and check the weather. Today, it was going to be partly sunny for sure. It was just before sunrise, but I could already see light emerging on the horizon and bouncing off some high clouds. I love watching the sunrise on my back porch, so I hurried downstairs, made myself a cup of coffee and opened the door to the back porch. I was both surprised and a bit disappointed. An unexpected fog rolled in, and my hopes to watch another beautiful sunrise across the lake were figuratively buried under a heavy cloud of white.

As quickly as the weather changed is how quickly I felt compelled to adjust my mood to the weather. For me, sunny days often connote a “get-up-and-go” can-do attitude that lends itself to productivity. My mind is lucid and focused, and it feels like there are no obstacles in my way, at least as far as the weather goes.

Foggy mornings, on the other hand, make me want to stay put and turn introspective. Fog carries with it an aura of uncertainty and can evoke feelings of hesitancy in us. We can’t see through it to the other side, so we proceed cautiously. Both literally and figuratively, it can play with our emotions. What once was bright, clear, and full of color is now veiled in an opaque monochromatic sheet of mystery. What we once saw for certain is now veiled in doubt.

Uncertainties

Pulling from my experience this morning, I know what lies on the other side of the lake. I stare at it every day, yet when seen through the fog, do I question, not what’s on the other side, but what might be moving toward me that I can’t quite make out? Unforeseen threats and dangerous uncertainties could be a lot closer to me because my depth perception has been altered and affected. In the presence of fog, I am preoccupied with “what-ifs.”

I can’t help but marvel at the uncanny parallel of this picture to our collective, present set of circumstances. Life feels very much like the unexpected fog that rolled into my morning today.

At the dawn of 2020, it looked like the year was going to be like another partly sunny day. Sure, there were clouds mixed in, but aren’t there always? We celebrated on New Year’s Eve just like we always do and approached January much like my approach to sunny days: optimistically. And then the global fog rolled in. Suddenly and without warning. It shrouded everything in a veil of thick, white haze. What we thought we could see, we could no longer see. What we knew was there for certain, we questioned. It affected our moods, our perspectives and even our outlook on life, productivity, and the future.

A Question from God

No sooner did I sit down with my coffee (mid-mood adjusting from sunny to foggy), that I felt the Lord asking me a question: Was it day or was it night? Obviously, it was morning and there was no denying that fact. It was not dark out, it was light. Somewhere beyond the fog, beyond the sheet of white that made it difficult to decipher between earth and sky, the day had dawned, the sun had risen — just as it always does.

I immediately acknowledged my limited, horizontal perspective and made room for God’s unlimited, vertical one. He was looking down, not across, the landscape of my life.  His eyes of heat and light burned right through the thickest fog, seeing every detail with a perspective of perfect clarity. In that moment, it was as if He was saying, “Even through the darkest night and the deepest fog, I am shining a light that cannot be overcome.”

A Light that Cannot Be Overcome 

John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Has not overcome it. Cannot overcome it. Will not overcome it.

Light wins. Every time.

Above the fog that I am experiencing — that we are experiencing — the sun is shining. The sun came up today, like it always does. The dawning of light over all creation is trustworthy and sure. Somewhere on the planet, the sun is coming up right now. Day is dawning all the time. The sunrise is not affected because we are affected by our horizontal circumstances or by our clouded perspectives. The truth is daybreak cannot be stopped.

A Call to Maturity

Believers, let us all go on to maturity. Let’s wake up more aware of the steadfast power of the light than the temporary shrouding of the fog. We already know that Almighty God is shining out a light that cannot be overcome. We are recipients of that light as the prophet Isaiah says, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (9:2). The light is greater than the darkness. It is able to burn through the fog. It is above the storm. It is not only as sure as the dawn, it is the dawn.

When we acknowledge Jesus as the Light of the world, even in the midst of our fog, it clears the way for His light to overcome through us. We will know, firsthand, that His light is greater than the darkness of this present evil age. It is able to burn through the foggy malaise trying to affect our mindsets. It is above the storms that are blowing through our circumstances. Finally, His light alone has dawned over our hearts expelling the black cover of sin over our souls for all of eternity.

His is a Light that cannot be overcome. We can rest assured that God sees through the fog even when we don’t.

Annemarie McLean is a four-girl mom, freelance writer, and co-founder of Brave & Beautiful, a ministry focused on challenging young women to live purpose-driven lives full of courage and character, while developing Christ-centered inner beauty. Annemarie holds a journalism degree from Oral Roberts University, with graduate work in organizational leadership at Palm Beach Atlantic University.