Absolute Certainty

I missed church a couple of Sundays ago.  It happens occasionally due to travel, but this was a miss due to illness.  I think it was only the second one of those missed Sundays in the past 25 years of ministry.  Because I was scheduled to pinch hit for a vacationing pastor, I had to find a pinch hitter for the pinch hitter.  During my couple of hours of text messaging for that purpose, one of my preacher friends gave me a new term for the ailment that I was experiencing: “intestinal uncertainty”. 

Now you know why I was afraid to leave the house.

If you have been reading my blog for more than a week or two, you know that my mind sometimes goes in unexpected directions.  I started thinking about other “uncertainties” that might make you want to just stay home in bed.

First, there is “educational uncertainty”.  This happens when you choose to hang out with friends instead of studying on the night before mid-terms.

Then there is “vocational uncertainty”. This happens when you have a difference of opinion with your employer.  And you realize that only one of those opinions matters.

There might be “relational uncertainty”.  This happens when you suspect that your in-laws might be coming for an extended visit.

That could result in “matrimonial uncertainty”. This could happen when you make too many in-law jokes.

Finally, and mercifully, there is “compositional uncertainty”.  This happens when you think you may have exhausted the patience of your readers.

Life is full of uncertainties.  Sometimes we are keenly aware of them. I have had conversations recently with people who are not making any significant decisions until after the presidential election.  They are almost paralyzed with uncertainty over the future.  For those who suffer uncertainty paralysis, I am reminded of a passage of Scripture that I have often used as an anchor.  Psalm 20:7-8 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.”

The upcoming election is important and there will certainly be consequences that accompany either candidate’s election.  But neither of these candidates holds the world together.  God does that.

There are also uncertainties that are not so obvious.  James 4:13-15 says, “Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'"

There is nothing wrong with making plans.  But what do you do when the life you planned doesn’t happen?  The answer is the same.  Trust God.  Your life matters to Him.

You can be certain about that.