I have been asked very skeptically, Anne, you mean you’ve seen the Lord?  Where . . . ?  And I’ve answered with a deep, confident knowing, Yes, I’ve seen the Lord . . . during the hard times in my life . . . in dryness and darkness. Trial and turmoil.  Storm and suffering.  “Clouds” that obscure everything and everyone else . . . except the Lord.

  I.  IN THE DESERT
 **  Describe a spiritual “desert.”  See Exodus 15:22; 16:2-3.
 **  Where did God’s people see the LORD in Exodus 16:10?
 **  Describe John’s “desert” in Revelation 1:9.  What was his experience there
       according to Revelation 1:9-16?
 **  Can you think of a time when you were spiritually dry, cut off from all that
       was familiar, yet met God in a fresh way?
 **  How are you encouraged by Isaiah 35:6 (KJV)?  Exodus 17:1-6? 
      Genesis 21:14-20?

 II.  IN THE DARKNESS   
 **  When have you floundered in the darkness of confusion or temptation,
       disappointment or depression?
 **  What did God promise His people in Exodus 19:9?
 **  How was Jonah in the dark, and what was his testimony in Jonah 2:1-3:2? 
       The Psalmist in Psalm 40:2?  Daniel in Daniel 6:1-28?  Lazarus in
       John 11:14, 33-35, 38-44?
 **  How are you encouraged by Exodus 20:21?  Psalm 97:2?  2 Samuel 22:29?

III.  IN THE STORM
 **  What storms of disease, death, divorce, disaster or other upheavals, have
       come into your life?  See Proverbs 1:27.
 **  Describe Ezekiel’s storm in Ezekiel 1:1-5, and whom he saw in
       Ezekiel 1:25-28.
 **  Describe the storm and the unique experience of the three Hebrew young
       men in Daniel 3:1-25.
 **  Describe Peter’s storm in Matthew 14:22-33, and what he discovered as a
       result.
 **  What do you learn about storms from these descriptions?  from Job 40:6?
       Proverbs 10:25? Nahum 1:3?
 **  What does Jesus teach you from His own example in Luke 8:22-25?

 IV.  ON THE MOUNTAIN
While I understand that mountains can represent peaks and high points in our lives, they can also represent difficulties, obstacles, hardship and stress because of the effort required to “climb” them.
 **  Name some mountains in your life at present.
 **  How are you encouraged by Exodus 34:1-5?  Genesis 22:14?  Mark 9:2-8?
 **  Would you ask God to give you eyes to see the LORD in the midst of your desert, darkness, storm and mountain-sized hardship?  Then open your eyes and look expectantly for Him . . .