I love gifts. Maybe it\u2019s my perennial Christmas spirit. But I prefer receiving to giving. So, it\u2019s probably my year-long need for sanctification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or maybe it\u2019s due to my charismatic upbringing. I grew up in a joyful chimera of seeming contradictions. Even as I write today as a Reformed Baptist pastor at an SBC church, the \u201cCharismatic Reformed Pseudo-Baptist\u201d hodge-podge is my inescapable spiritual heritage. My core church memories include prophesying, tongues, dancing, and one particular sister in Christ whom my brothers and I nicknamed \u201cthe banshee woman,\u201d since she apparently thought that screeching like a Night Fury during worship was her personal spiritual gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My core memories also include expository preaching, sacrificial hospitality, and courageous evangelism. I can honestly say that I grew up in the presence of the Lord, like Samuel in the temple. It was in such churches that I learned to worship my Savior. It was in such churches that I learned to love God\u2019s sovereign grace. And it was in such churches that I learned to pray prayers like Psalm 84:2:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My soul longs, yes, faints <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n for the courts of the LORD; <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n my heart and flesh sing for joy <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n to the living God. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I can honestly say that from childhood my soul has longed\u2014yes, even ached and fainted\u2014for the courts of the Lord. When I went to college and evangelized the campus alongside Baptists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Methodists, non-denoms, and even the odd Anglican, this one thing was consistent across the denominational board: we were all <\/em>hungry for God, all <\/em>desperate to know and be known by him, all <\/em>eager to draw near to him in worship and experience his presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I would spend hours in prayer, on my face before God till my forehead was bruised, waiting for a vision, a word, an encounter\u2014desperately wanting to see the Lord pass by. How did you know <\/em>whether he\u2019d passed by or not? Well, you\u2019d just know<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had inklings and nudges in my conscience, hints that perhaps this version of spirituality wasn\u2019t <\/em>the ideal picture of maturity that Christ intended for believers. However, I did not pause until I noticed people talk about worship services as though the whole point was to \u201cget in.\u201d On an especially moving Sunday, I\u2019d hear comments about how \u201cGod really showed up <\/em>today.\u201d People would talk about God\u2019s presence \u201cmanifesting,\u201d or a leader might say, \u201cLet\u2019s just linger here in his presence for a moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such paradigmatic language inevitably has a redounding effect; these types of statements not only belied some underlying structuring metaphors, but they also reinforced them. I began to notice how people used the same language for their daily devotionals when I ran into a friend at a coffee shop who confessed he was \u201chaving a hard time getting into<\/em> the presence of God\u201d that morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I say all this as a twofold preface. First, my criticisms are of myself. The rough draft of this article was a me-sized mirror, a \u201cnote to self\u201d in my struggle to shed a few spiritual pounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second point is that this conceptualization of Christian spirituality and worship extends beyond the theological debate over continuationism. It extends bi-directionally, across denominations and spheres. It spans denominations because it is related to the utterly biblical desire to be with God<\/em> (see Psalm 84). And it extends across spheres, impacting the way we approach and think about corporate services and private devotions, because it is a matter of worship. Everything in life is downstream from worship. The way we approach worship, whether we get it right or get it wrong, bears cosmic (and thus universal) significance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this reason, I want to warn my brothers and sisters in the faith about what I call a Cloudy Spirituality.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cloudy Spirituality<\/em> is the mindset that centers the Christian walk on the ideal of experiencing God\u2019s presence in a subjective, yet tangible, way. Everything spiritual, from our worship services to our life decisions, is about either following<\/em>, or getting into<\/em>, or experiencing <\/em>God\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I call it a Cloudy <\/em>Spirituality because it reminds me of the motif of the cloud that permeates the Old Testament. From Egypt to the Temple, you find God manifesting his presence in the form of a cloud. He went before Israel \u201cin a pillar of cloud\u201d to lead them through the desert (Ex. 13:21\u201322). He exhibited his presence in a cloud when he gave manna (Ex. 16:10). He spoke to Moses \u201cin a thick cloud\u201d when he instituted his covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:9, 16; 24:15\u201318). The cloud signified his presence when he would stand and speak with Moses as a friend at the tent\u2019s door (Ex. 33:9\u201310).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cloud was the vehicle that displayed God\u2019s glory when his tabernacle was finished (Ex. 40:34\u201335), and Israel was to follow his presence wherever the cloud led (Ex. 40:36\u201337). The Lord\u2019s presence in this \u201ccloudy\u201d manner <\/em>led Moses to say that the nations had heard \u201cthat you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people\u201d (Num. 14:14). And when the Temple was established, the place was filled with God\u2019s glory-cloud, in a recapitulation of the inauguration of God\u2019s presence at the tabernacle (1 Kings 8:10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cloud was an image, a tangible demonstration to the Israelites\u2014and to the watching nations\u2014that God was fulfilling his promise to be with them; they are his people, and he is their God. The cloud must have felt like a down payment (though we know from our vantage it was more of a foretaste) of the fulfillment of his promise-plan. And Israel seemed to know there was something more, something better, yet to come: Isaiah prophesied a day when \u201cthe branch of the Lord\u201d would be glorified (Isa. 4:2). When this messianic silhouette came into focus, the presence of God would not be restricted to one pillar that leaves and leads, but rather<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then <\/em>the LORD will create over the whole <\/em>site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all <\/em>the glory there will be a canopy<\/em>. (Is. 4:5, emphasis added)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surely Christ\u2019s disciples would have had all these and more images in mind when God spoke from <\/em>a bright cloud, sudden and fearsome, to declare that Jesus was his beloved Son to whom they should listen (see Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:34).<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is no surprise then that when this great thread running through Scripture meets with our yearning to see the Savior face to face; we should long to stand where our fathers have stood. It is not surprising that we should yearn to behold Christ\u2019s countenance. Not only because we have affection for him, but also because we want assurance\u2014we want to know that we have not veered off the path or neglected to do what he has called us to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But such a yearning can also become a danger, when it derails our worship in private and public. I worry that many have, like me, learned to misguidedly yearn for the Old Covenant pattern of God\u2019s pillar of cloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our hearts, we want the cloud. We make decisions like the Israelites, testing by our emotions and subjective senses where to go and how to obey. And we yearn for the same in worship: in our private devotions, we search and study and sit still and quiet to hear his voice. \u2026 And we often close the book in frustration or confusion after reading, because we feel like we didn\u2019t<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In services, we also look for the cloud to descend, desiring some tangible experience of the presence of God. Some of us look for a literal \u201cshekina\u201d to appear on the stage or leak through our Bibles. And some settle for the theatrical display, our performances producing haze in more ways than one. In all cases, our vision is clouded, and clarity is overshadowed. We want a pillar of presence, and in the pursuit, we have wandered our worship into murky territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ironically, we have preferred the tangible over the substantial. Yet another reason to call it a Cloudy <\/em>Spirituality. This spiritual mood exchanges mature decisiveness for nervous hesitancy, stable sober-mindedness for sentimental emotionalism. The longer we sojourn in these foggy fields, the more we slip into chasing a shadow in the mist. And, even more troubling, the more we are dissatisfied with the God who is in our midst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The season of Advent crystallizes the problem. The cloudy pursuit of spiritual \u201cpresence\u201d actually risks missing Christmas! As someone who has grown up a continuationist and happily defended this distinctive for years, there is a bitter irony in the fact that we may have withheld from ourselves and others the great <\/em>gift: the revelation of Immanuel<\/em>, the guarantee that God is with us<\/em> through Jesus Christ, whose Spirit indwells us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The issue is, first and foremost, one of covenantal discontinuity. Cloudy Spirituality is not the ideal God desires for us as new covenant saints<\/em>. The clouds at Sinai and at the tabernacle were both a blessing and a barrier. They were a mark of the Old Covenant, of the impassibility between God\u2019s holiness and man\u2019s sin. The cloud meant God\u2019s glory and presence, yes\u2014but such that one could neither see nor enter in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you survey the \u201ccloud\u201d motif in Scripture, you\u2019ll notice not only the awe and wonder, but also the imperfection of the cloudy presence of God in Israel. God came close; the people shrank back (Ex. 20:18\u201321). Moses trembled (Heb. 12:21). He was unable to enter the tent because <\/em>of the cloud (Ex. 40:35), and when the temple was consecrated, God\u2019s glory again barred his servants from coming close (1 Kings 8:10\u201311). The cloudy presence of God in the Old Testament was a mixed message of both blessing and judgment; just like the Old Covenant in its other facets, it clearly showed them where God was, and yet it did not make him more accessible because of their sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is easy to idealize the glorious, tangible presence of the Lord, wishing we could see and experience him. But if he showed up in this way during our worship services, the wisest and holiest among us would most likely fall on their faces in fear (see Matt. 17:6; cf. Isa. 6:5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n We must ask the question: How, if it\u2019s better to have the tangible presence of God, can Jesus say, \u201cIt is better for you<\/em> that the Holy Spirit should come\u201d (John 16:7)? How can Jesus say, \u201cBlessed are those who do not see, and yet believe\u201d? How can we say, on this side of the resurrection and ascension, when we have no cloud, no pillar, no physical bodily presence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBetter is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere,\u201d Christian brothers, from charismatics to Calvinists, can all sing together with the Psalmist. Quoting him further: \u201cNo good thing <\/em>does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!\u201d (Ps. 84:11\u201312). The Cloudy Spirituality offers you a Jesus who comes and goes, a Savior who is a little less tangible than a cloud, a little less predictable than a dream. But the Advent season, the story of Christmas, the good news of the gospel, invites you to a Jesus whose promise is \u201cI will never <\/em>leave you or forsake you,\u201d a Jesus who is utterly unchanging and is therefore utterly reliable (Heb. 13:5, 8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like the covenant they accompanied, the cloudy elements were passing away when they were written down for our sake. We can see clearly now, in the light of Christ\u2019s coming and resurrection. The day has come, the light has shone upon the dark place, and the mist must remove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The veil has been torn. The haze is erased; the cloud is dispelled. Pioneering pillars are obsolete in the Promised Land. There is no Tabernacle nor Temple we can be barred from; we <\/em>are the temple, and God\u2019s presence is with us. <\/em>We do not have to \u201cget in,\u201d because Immanuel has<\/em>. What is more, Immanuel is.<\/em> And because Immanuel is what his name claims, where he dwells is the Most Holy Place. Welcome Christ through faith, and welcome into the everlasting presence of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, let\u2019s be done with the cloudy spirituality. Let\u2019s be done with foggy thinking, looking at the mist and wondering whether God\u2019s presence and peace is staying or going, whether we need to pack up or settle in. This wavering and wondering belongs to a people still wandering. But we will not be double-minded. We have come to an unshakeable city, to an unshakeable confidence. There are no clouds here, only daylight. Where the people once followed a glorious mist, the glorious God now dwells within their midst. Foggy thinking cannot settle on the mind captured by Christ. So, let\u2019s walk and think and decide and worship in his light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I want to give you a gift this Christmas. I want you to enjoy the gift of<\/em> Christmas. No good thing<\/em> does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. We have in Christ all that we need. Spotlights will not make him more visible, and fog machines will not make him more tangible. So let\u2019s put these flesh-ticklers away, along with all other patterns of immaturity. If we have faith in his Son, God is <\/em>with us. Merry Christmas!<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many see their spiritual life like Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness: always chasing as elusive, tangible God. But Andrew Ballard shows how in Christ, we have received a greater, more substantial experience of God. So, let us leave behind a “cloudy spirituality,” and instead embrace Christ in all his glory. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":50832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"The Christmas Gift of Un-Clouded Spirituality","_seopress_titles_desc":"Many see their spiritual life like Israel's sojourn in the wilderness: always chasing as elusive, tangible God. But Andrew Ballard shows how in Christ, we have received a greater, more substantial experience of God. So, let us leave behind a \"cloudy spirituality,\" and instead embrace Christ in all his glory.","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"[]","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[32,12,1978,38],"tags":[2476,2478,1625,823,187,2480,722,188,99],"scripture-reference":[2479],"post_folder":[],"ppma_author":[2096],"class_list":["post-50825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-concise","category-december-2025","category-theme","tag-art","tag-cessationist","tag-charismatic","tag-christ","tag-christmas","tag-cloudy-spirituality","tag-hope","tag-incarnation","tag-spirituality","scripture-reference-psalm-842"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/pexels-lum3n-44775-167699-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-01-13 11:05:58","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"authors":[{"term_id":2096,"user_id":14,"is_guest":0,"slug":"andrew-ballard","display_name":"Andrew Ballard","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Andrew-Ballard-e1747184685978.png","url2x":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Andrew-Ballard-e1747184685978.png"},"author_category":"1","job_title":"","church_city_state":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","church_site":"","user_url":"","description":"A Cloudy Spirituality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tangible, Yet Not Substantial<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Is God Really With Us?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
God Really Is <\/em>With Us<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Enjoy The Gift of Christmas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n