Seasons of Uncertainty

It seems like for many of us, it is one of those seasons when there is a lot of uncertainty in the air. We can see it even on a national level–as I write this, lawmakers are doing eleventh-hour scrambling to come up with a debt-ceiling deal deadline that they’ve seen coming for months (don’t EVEN get me started), and that’s causing a lot of uneasiness on a global scale. On a more personal level, I feel a lot of uncertainty around me and my family right now. Our current lease runs out at the end of August, and at this point we really need to move into a bigger place–but we’ve been so manic busy that we’ve barely even had a chance to look at what’s out there. And there’s all the other questions that come along with it–how much rent will we have to pay, what will be available at the time we need to move, wanting to make sure we move into a safe neighborhood that’s still affordable, and having the deposit money at that time we need it–all those variables that need to fall into place in a fairly short time span.

And then there’s the uncertainty involved in other leaps of faith. Since the previous post, I’ve named a specific time/day/place for the musician’s Bible study, and sent out the invitations–and I have NO idea what to expect as far as people showing up. 🙂

Not that I mean to complain, nor should I. I’ve lived (successfully) through far more turbulent seasons of uncertainty than this. I just don’t particularly care for the discomfort that comes with uncertainty–but who does?

One thing I can say is that it is in seasons like these that I really recognize the value of my faith in Christ, and in being able to lean upon Him. Despite the uncertainty around me, I realize and remember that as Christ-followers, we are subjects of a higher kingdom, one that is neither regulated nor swayed by global economics, natural disasters, wars and rumors of wars, or anything else uncertain in this world. God is a constant in a universe filled with variables.  Not only have I seen miracles (even last-minute ones), but I have also seen (time and again) that things go a lot better for us when I keep my cotton-picking hands off the rudder and let Him steer the ship. Whatever uncertainty we feel on our end of things, God is not uncertain about anything–and has in effect answered every question before I ask it. Even if He doesn’t tell me the answer right away.

And so in the midst of the uncertainty I feel all around, I also feel a grace to walk through it, a grace that comes from somewhere beyond myself. I may walk through uncertainty, but I do not walk alone. It reminds me of the Scripture:

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.” –Ps. 23:4

As a recovering control freak and one who is prone to fear, I find that more and more, I do not need all the questions answered at once in order to feel okay. I used to pray fervently for God to give me all the details; now when I pray through the issues in my life, I seek simply the reassurance that He is on the scene and has matters in hand. It is sufficient to know that God is with me, and that God is for me; just knowing that brings great comfort. That, to me, is the heart behind that “peace that passes all understanding,” that peace Jesus spoke of that the world cannot give.

This peace in the midst of uncertainty is our heritage as followers of Christ. For that, I am truly thankful.