Ummm…content with uncertainty? Is that really possible? Or, is this going to be “pie in the sky” that “preaches” well, but isn’t really achievable?
Yes, I am discovering it is a do-able deal. It’s not easy because there are so many mental habits to retrain. But, it is obtainable if…
We begin to understand that the word obtainable is seen as a process and not a destination.
Let me share with you some thoughts that I’ve found very helpful and have led me in my journey to increasing peace, joy, and faith. Let’s look at Philippians 4:11-12:
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Although the Apostle Paul is speaking specifically here of material things, I believe the Holy Spirit is revealing a much broader application of living truth and practical reality.
Paul also said to the Corinthian church, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;” (2 Cor. 4:8).
Just a little bit later in his letter, Paul said, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
If you put just these three verses together, I believe it is safe to say that Paul –flesh and blood just like you or me– was in the place in his journey of becoming content with uncertainty…because he was convinced in the truth and character of what (Who) he could not see.
We are a people obsessed with goals and achievements. However, relationships don’t really unfold and mature that way. Relationship is a process of learning, experiencing, and knowing. It can be messy. There’s a proverb that says, “Where the stall is clean there is no ox.” As Bill Johnson, pastor of Bethel Church, Redding, CA says, “There are no poopless cows.” He also says, “If you want the peace that passes understanding, you have to give up your right to understand.” I personally applaud and am learning to live with the truth of both of those statements.
Living with uncertainty is living with mystery. Becoming content with mystery is becoming content with the God of mystery.
The “fear” of the Lord that’s the beginning of wisdom can be rightly understood as, living in the “mystery” of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We, as Christ followers, have a desperate need to return to the mysteries of God. He is awesome. To be such, you and I have to deeply trust Him in the many, many things we don’t understand. We must abandon the demand to get our heads around everything. We must embrace the “I don’t knows” of circumstances because God knows all things and is working them for our good.
Gary