Years ago I was the pastor of a small town Texas congregation. In that little community there was a restaurant called “Doc’s.” They had a strange practice in that place. They would serve dessert first. The very first thing the waitress would do would be to place your dessert in front of you. By the cash register was a small sign, “Eat Dessert First, Life Is So Uncertain.”
Life is Uncertain
Does uncertainty scare you? It frightens most of us, which can be discouraging considering that life is so uncertain.
We hate that life is uncertain. We want to feel assured. We want to have it figured out. We want to know what to expect. But life sends us so many surprises. Some of them are wonderful, some frightful.
I have traveled through life thinking I knew what God was going to do with me for the next several years, only to find that God had an assignment that I never expected to receive. Five years ago, if you asked me if I would ever want to be a professor at a school, I would have said “no way.” I was a pastor and that is all I could see for myself. But then I was invited to serve as an online pastor at Liberty Seminary. I have since taught hundreds of students while still serving my church as pastor. What a cool surprise that has increased my opportunities.
But not all surprises are pleasant. In fact, they can bring you to your knees and call you to deeply question. Yesterday, I traveled hundreds of miles with my son and a staff member to visit two families in another city. One family was helping their 5 year old boy fight cancer. Two and a half months ago, they realized how uncertain life can be when they received that frightening diagnosis.
We also visited a young 18 year old girl who suffered a tragic gunshot wound to the face. She is a personal friend of our family and a former member of our church. That family never planned for this. The trauma they suffer is difficult to comprehend. They could not have anticipated this. This is just another example of the uncertainty of life.
So what is the lesson here? I am leading up to it. It is this, the only certain thing in this uncertain life is God.
Everything changes in life, nothing is 100% predictable. But God never changes. The Scriptures declare…
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
So what am I saying? I am saying that YOU cannot be certain of any circumstance. You cannot be certain about your job, your future finances, the opportunities you will or won’t have in the future, your health, the health of those you love, or even if you will live long or short.
There is only one thing that is certain and it is God. God is the one who can be certain to us in the midst of uncertainty.
Actually, our relationship with God thrusts us into uncertainty. Oswald Chambers said it well, “To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we don’t not know what a day may bring forth.” He goes on to point out that, “We are not uncertain of God, but uncertain of what He is going to do next.” After all he loads our lives with so many surprises.
So what does it look like to grow in faith? Growth comes when I accept that the God who does not change in essence and character will always guide me through this life of uncertainty. Growth comes when I embrace the fact that God’s adventures cannot be predicted. Growth comes when I place my trust in God and tell him that I will follow him into every uncertainty of my life.
Question: Do you find comfort knowing that God is in the midst of your uncertainties? Tell us why. You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Uncertainties of life are a given, many may choose to ignore that fact while others embrace it as an adventure. God, as you say Greg, is the only sure thing we can rely on day after day after day.
That is not to say that God is a mundane entity in our lives, no exactly opposite of that, because He provides adventure at every turn and we must choose to accept it or ignore it. Opportunities abound if we stay focused on our Creator and search what plan He has provided us. Be careful in that search because what He has planned may not even come close to what our “ideal” life that we envision ends up to be.
Today’s blog was excellent timing for me as I consider opportunities that are placed before me. Now all I need do is decide if I reach for the unknown or continue to hold firmly to the known.
It is always a challenging decision to make when you must choose to venture into the new or cling to the old.
Thanks for this message, Pastor Greg. I know God grows believers in Christ-likeness through challenges and changes. Telling God “I’ll follow you anywhere” is freeing and nerve-wracking (if I focus on myself) at the same time. You know God is stretching us to adopt kids. As we have interacted with other foster families and met many foster kids, God has opened our hearts further for His hurting children. Facing many unknowns, I have to keep my focus on each day and the calling God has given us. I am trusting He will make the path clear as Mike & I continue to seek him in all things. It is comforting to know God is with us always and I trust Him to follow His plans for my life.
Trusting God in the adventure of adoption or fostering is certainly a walk into uncertainty. We certainly have found this in our adoption of our boy. But it is so worth it! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for this Word today and directing towards His Word. In the last month of varies heart related health test, each result lead to “uncertainty” in my life. Then my husband started having health issues, and then medical test, with results that brought about “uncertainty” of our future. With each report, we bonded together and took the matters to The Lord. Our faith has increased and our bond has become stronger. (And , this doesn’t mean the Enemy didn’t try at times to take us down, but God is bigger and His a Word is stronger!).
We are still in the midst of major medical test, and uncertainty still lies ahead, but with God there is a Prevailing Life ahead. Thank you God and Thank you Bro. Greg.
Thank you for your comment and I am praying for your family!