How can I face uncertainty with certainty?
If you are anything like me, you can go through a range of thoughts and emotions when faced with this question. This has always been a major wrestling point in my life and I know that I have learned so much along the journey and face uncertainty with much more peace and certainty these days. And yet only this morning I was confronted by my own default to anxiety and avoidance of uncertainty once more. Uncertainty is a fact of life that we all have to deal with in one way or another.
I can only write from what I have experienced. From where I stand, I have no idea how anyone can face uncertainty with any kind of peace without a relationship with God. It is this basis that I draw from. Having said that, a relationship with Jesus has not meant that this was automatic. The core of the issue in my life, and possibly in yours too, is the question of whether God really is good and trustworthy. I can’t tell you how many times I have wrestled through this and likely will continue to at different moments. Does that sound sacrilegious to you? Maybe it is to some degree but it is the reality that many (if not all) of us who choose to follow Jesus face.
It is too easy to look at the face value of circumstances through the filter of our own limited thinking and world view and conclude that God is not good and trustworthy. It doesn’t look like the picture I have in my mind of everything going well all of the time. Through many trials, tears, shouts and journal pages, I have come to see that my way is not God’s way and may not be in my best long term interest. I would not be the person I am today without having weathered and endured the storms of life that I have. God knew what He was doing when He allowed those times to come into my life. He was more interested in my soul and character than immediate happiness. He is good and trustworthy even when times look bad and uncertain. That is my belief won through wrestling with God and life. I cannot impart that belief to you merely through words, of course.
It is this belief that underlies the certainty I have when facing uncertainty both in the big and little aspects of life. I find I am able to rest in the midst of it when I trust that God has it under control. My word for this year has been “faithful” and I wear it on a bracelet on my wrist as a constant reminder. My family has faced tremendous uncertainty and heartache this year and continues to walk this journey. Make no mistake- it is hard, painful, exhausting and seemingly relentless however there is an underlying peace that defies human logic and understanding. I no longer have the same compulsion to know the outcome of everything or to have every detail of my life planned out ahead of time.
That doesn’t mean it won’t flare up at times. That is why I keep that reminder on my wrist. My eyes wander from God and to my circumstances time and again. When I choose to refocus once more, the situation fades once more into its right perspective. It is this process of continually working at keeping my sight fixed on Jesus and who He is that allows me to face uncertainty with certainty.
I don’t know what uncertainty you are facing today. Maybe you have never considered God as having any relevance to this issue for you. Maybe you relate to my wrestle with trusting God fully. I encourage you to explore for yourself what difference it could make in being able to face the uncertainty with a certainty and peace that you don’t have right now. Maybe you need to remember (like I do) that you are not God and that you don’t have to be the one in control.
This post is part of a series for Write 31 Days called “For Your Encouragement.” I am taking requests from readers on what they want encouragement about and responding to the best of my ability. I would love to hear from you.
You can read the rest of the posts in this series here.