“It looks like I’m not going to Eastern Europe after all. I just hope I’ll still be assigned a new country soon.”
Our daughter was due for her Peace Corps deployment when 9/11 hit the United States. She had been scheduled for a country in Europe, but now other volunteers were being pulled out of risky situations and were taking those locations. Maybe there wouldn’t be a place for her at all.
This wasn’t the only thing that 9/11 did to upset her path forward. The entire international relations degree she had just earned had taken a major shift. So much of what she had learned and focused on had been turned upside down or didn’t even exist anymore.
Just because things are the way they are today doesn’t mean they will be like that tomorrow. The future is unpredictable, unreliable, full of doubts and changes. My father used to say, “The only thing that is consistent about that man is his inconsistency.” We can rephrase that to read, “The only thing that is certain about this life is its uncertainty.”
A familiar saying advises us that there are only two things certain in this life: death and taxes. I don’t know about taxes, but death is definitely certain. God said so (Genesis 2:17) and the evidence is before us every day.
When things are uncertain, people look to us as leaders, as managers and bosses, as pastors, as parents. They are relying on us, depending on us with their full trust and confidence. What are they looking for? Answers, hope, assurances everything is going to be okay.
Sometimes we can see a path forward or one that will circumvent the problem. Often there are contingency plans for those uncertain situations, those abrupt changes. Sometimes it’s a matter of bearing down and getting busy to set things in order again.
But sometimes the rug is pulled out from under us. We are also feeling uncertain. We don’t know what to say. What if things aren’t going to be all right?
After the assassination of John Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson said that she felt like she had just walked onstage for a part she’d never rehearsed. That sounds like a few unsettling, fearful nightmares I’ve had. And yet she found the strength to carry on.
When everything seems to be literally collapsing around us, where do we look for that hope to carry us forward? I like the comment from Renee Swope: “Sometimes life takes us places we never expected to go, and in those places, God writes a story we never thought would be ours.”
Those uncertain times are the time to talk to our Lord about His plans. We know He’s working for our good (Romans8:28). We know He is able to do so much more than we can imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9). I like the version of Ephesians 3:20 in The Message: “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.”
We long for certainty, especially when others are looking to us. We long to be on the other side of fear. And that’s where the Lord Jesus takes us!
Instead of putting our hope in things of this world, we put our hope in the generosity of our Lord (1 Timothy 6:17). He promises to certainly hear us when we call to Him (Exodus 22:23). And He promises that because we believe in Him we will be saved from eternal death (John 3:16; 6:40; 11:25).
Just like the writer of the book of Romans I know this for sure. I am convinced that nothing can separate me from the love of my Lord Jesus (8:38-39). And I am absolutely certain that I will come out on the other side of death, what appears to be so certain, and be with my Lord (6:5).
Jesus doesn’t want us to be uncertain. He clearly tells us, “I am the way.. I am the truth… I am the life. I’ve prepared a place for you in heaven. I’ll come and take you there. You will never die when you believe in me and what I’ve promised.”
In spite of all the uncertainties I am faced with, it’s wonderful to know that the ultimate certainty has been take care of for me. I am certain it is no longer part of my future!
Christine Vogelsang is a teacher, musician, pastor’s wife, and mother of three adult children. For almost forty years her family enjoyed the love of congregations in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Southern California. She has earned her master’s degree in education, taught at various schools (from kindergarten to college) and served as music director for twenty-five years at their last church.
While writing and speaking about the joy of being God’s child has always been a part of her life, it wasn’t until her weekly inspirational blogs (restoringthejoy.net) gained an international following that Christine decided to publish her first book. She has also written and produced three plays about people and events in the Gospels that bring these ancient stories to life.
Christine and her husband have retired from full time church work; however, her blog ministry continues to grow. She recently completed her Restoring the Joy: Leaving My Guilt at the Cross book series (available through Amazon) and is scheduling more speaking engagements that highlight her spiritual passion: joy without guilt!
