Not so sure

It’s that time of year when a lot of people are making a life transition. And that can be a scary thing.

When I was a kid, I was certain I was going to be a teacher—until I became a graphic designer. When I was in high school, I was certain I would play basketball in college—until I became involved in the theatre. As an adult, I was certain I would live in Minneapolis—until I permanently settled in Fargo-Moorhead. There were many things in life I was certain about—until life took me in another direction.

It’s only natural to want to know what’s next, but sometimes certainty becomes so coveted that we think uncertainty is a bad thing. It’s not good or bad, it just is. Uncertainty can be freeing if we let it open us up to what God might have in mind. If you would have told me 10 years ago if I would be a pastor today, I would have told you that you were crazy. Yet here I am. Does God have plans for you that you never considered?. Oswald Chambers says, “Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life—gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life.” Hopefully this does not cause us to sigh in sadness, but to gasp with breathless expectation.

Our certainty rests only in the uncertainty of where God will place us and use us. That can make us uncomfortable or thrill us to the bone. The stabling factor is our relationship with him, for through that relationship, we are promised rivers of living water will flow from our lives and we will glorify God, which fulfills our purpose, no matter where we end up. What a glorious certainty!

A relationship with the living God ensures us a “life full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy. Leave everything to him and it will be gloriously and graciously uncertain how he will come in—but you can be certain that he will come. Remain faithful to him.” (Chambers)

Being Human connection:  We may be uncertain of the next step, but we can be certain of God.