Two years ago this week, I found myself in a craft store in Northern California waiting on some friends. As waiting is what I do best when others are shopping (no, I’m not much of a shopper), I searched for entertainment—anything to help pass time.

My eyes landed on an old book used as a display prop. I brushed aside whatever the book had been displaying and picked up the book. Its title was taken from a line of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem “Aurora Leigh.” I didn’t get to read much of the book, but I will forever remember the line of the poem: “The blue of heaven is larger than the cloud.”

God knew that at that very moment I had a large cloud hovering over my sky, blocking sunshine and, to a degree, concealing His presence. He also knew that another black cloud, heavy with painful news, was rolling in and would be further covering my sky in less than forty-eight hours.

And in that moment, the Lord used the line from a poem to remind me that He—God Himself—is larger than any cloud that could ever enshroud my way.

I don’t know what cloud may be hanging across your sky, but I know what is larger—God’s love, God’s mercy, and God’s grace.

Have you noticed that Scripture speaks of God’s attributes in terms of immensity? God describes Himself with words of grandeur and abundance—mountains, oceans, heavens, great spans, breath, depth, height.

Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.—Psalm 36:5–6

For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.—Psalm 103:11–12

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?…Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.—Romans 8:35, 37–39

I’m thankful that the blue of heaven is larger than the cloud. Elizabeth Barrett Browning said so.

But I’m especially thankful that my God is greater than the darkest cloud that can or will ever enter your life or mine. God Himself promised.