A Healthy Relationship with Uncertainty
Dreams and aspirations are deeply engrained in the human spirit. As far back as human culture can be traced, we see this. From the Epic of Gilgamesh to the epic poems of the Greeks to the advent of social media, we have always been drawn in by the idea of getting more out of life. If this could be summed up in one particular point, I would point to Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. She floats through town with books in her hands and a song on her heart, and our hearts beat in time with hers as she sings, “There must be more than this provincial life.”
If this theme is so prevalent in mankind, why is it that so many people fall into patterns of normalcy, and why is it that those who believe they serve an all-knowing, all-powerful God are no different? The answer is simple, uncertainty. To be clear, I’m not encouraging everyone to drop life as it stands and chase down the sun with reckless abandon. What I am doing is challenging us all to rethink our doubts. It’s my opinion that God has designed us to have a healthy relationship with uncertainty. Here is what I mean.
Live in faith.
As Christians, our only hope in life and in death is that we are not our own. Our faith is in the One who has claimed us with His blood. He is the same one that has commissioned us with His message. Do you see opportunities around you for His Gospel work? Get on it! Do you have a heart for ministry over-seas? Find a good organization, pack your bags, and join them. If you wait until your every what-if is satisfied, you’ll never know what it means to depend fully on the Spirit and the Word as your guides, Christ as your hope, or the Father as your provider. Live by faith, not by sight.
Trust in God.
What was it that Adam and Eve wanted from the forbidden fruit? Knowledge. They knew that there was something out there that they didn’t understand; something kept from them. Rather than trusting God, they decided to try and end the mystery. They sought confidence in their own wisdom. Even Jesus wrestled with anxious anticipation of the cross in His garden prayer, and He was uncertain about the time of His return. However, as our perfect example, He went about the work set before Him.
Get over yourself.
Why do we think that knowing the future is going to make all the difference? What about Moses or Gideon or Jonah or Peter? These men are biblical proof that we need more than a peek at the plan. Trusting that foreknowledge is the answer is trusting in our own will and strength. What we need is to act on our confessions of God’s grace and sovereignty.
So, my brothers and sisters, give yourself to those dreams of joining God in His work. Run the race and don’t look back. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and leave the rest to God.
