Certain Uncertainty

Matt Davis

Have you ever had a period of your life where you didn’t know what was going to happen? Bad news from a doctor, waiting on a response from a prospective mate, or even waiting out a big storm.

If there’s anything that’s certain in this life, it’s that there will be uncertainty. As humans, we like to think that we can do anything we put our minds to. But what can you do when you don’t know what to do? What reasonable action can you take when it seems there is no reasonable action to take?

This year has been a lot of that for me. Lots of doctor visits. Lots of tests. Lots of unanswered questions. And the longer uncertainty hovers over my life, the more I am drawn to stories like Job and Elijah.

In 1 Kings 19, Elijah had just finished taking out all of the false prophets of Jezebel. When she received this news, she sent a messenger to Elijah to tell him essentially that the same fate would be his by the next day.

He ventured into the wilderness, sat down under a juniper tree, and asked God to kill him. The uncertainty of not knowing when or who or how he would die seemed to be an unbearable weight for one the mightiest prophets of God.

But God took care of Elijah. He fed him twice, let him rest in safety, and ultimately revealed that He alone was in control and would take care of him. The uncertainty of man is sometimes the way for God to be able to get through to us.

Over the last year or so, God has gotten a hold of my life in a deeper way. He has reminded me that even when it seems that my life has been thrust into chaos, He is still in control and the only stability I truly need is in my relationship with Christ.

Regardless of your chaotic circumstances, be encouraged that, even in times of uncertainty, we can be certain that God is totally in control.