Cloud Cover

18/08/2026

It’s funny to think that, even though William Wordsworth lived in the UK, he could pen the words:

“I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills”

In my experience, clouds rarely seem lonely in this country. Rather than travelling alone they often hang about in platoons, or more frequently, battalions! Perhaps it was a month like this that he was inspired to write his famous poem – one with precious few clouds passing through the sky.

Clouds are amazing. They seem to ‘float on high’ and yet some can weigh hundreds of tons. They often appear fluffy and soft but can yield tremendous power. Not just thunder, hale, snow and rain but they can render the strong rays of the sun powerless, by simply floating in front of them.

In UK summers past, a cloud’s ability to block the sun has been a source of great frustration for many. However, perhaps more so in the last few weeks, we can appreciate a cloud’s ability to instantly provide cool shelter from the sun’s harsh rays.

It also helps us to relate better to the thoughts inspiring Isaiah’s metaphor in chapter 25:4-5 of the Bible:

‘You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.’

There are times when the circumstances of our lives can feel like the relentless heat of the sun – weakening us through the day and keeping us awake at night.

But just as God can gently blow a cloud through the sky to stand between us and the sun, giving us respite from the heat, so too can he in the harshest circumstances of our lives.

Back in Exodus 14:19-20, God sent a cloud to stand between Israel and the oncoming Egyptian army:

‘the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them,coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel’

God can direct the clouds, and the whole of creation if needed, to shelter and protect us. He does not hold back anything that is good from those who turn to him, and who choose to walk in his ways (Psalm 84:11), not even the life of his son.

So, take your struggles to him today. The same God who gently blows the clouds across the sky has everything in hand.

Cloud study

Tomie DePaola has a lot of great books, many of which are retellings of myths and legends from around the world.

One of my favourites of his books though, is this one about clouds. In it he describes and illustrates different cloud formations in a way that makes it engaging, even for a very young audience.