Reminded of the Truth
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
Charles Dickens begins his classic book, A Tale of Two Cities, with this opening paragraph:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,”.
The book was published in 1859, but this opening seems relevant for today. I think Dickens was trying to describe the complexity, confusion, and paradoxes of the age. So how would we describe the age we have been living in these past few months? Based on what I’ve heard people say, I would have to describe it as the age of “I don’t know what’s going to happen or what to do”. It is a season of uncertainty and unrest.
There are a variety of factors that contribute to this unease. The most basic one is concern about actually contracting the virus. There are certainly things that minimize the risk, but none of them are foolproof. Another area of confusion is knowing what the criteria are in order to declare that things are safe. There is financial uncertainty, employment uncertainty, and uncertainty about the impact this stress will have on families. There is uncertainty about when and how to start church again. There are questions about what normal will even look like. This uncertainty often generates anxiety. For some, it is quite pronounced. For others, it is beneath the surface. Either way, anxiety is still present. And either way, it's tiring, both emotionally and physically.
My goal is to remind us of a couple foundational truths that can anchor us in these days. They are not new or unique—in fact, they are very basic—but sometimes we simply need reminders.
Remember Who God Is
Simply remember who God is and that He is stable when everything around us appears so unstable. Many of us believe this, but find it hard to live this in difficult times. The uncertainty can almost squeeze God out of our thinking; making it very difficult to trust and lighten up, much less relax. In the ongoing battle of “fear versus faith” that most of us fight, it is easy for fear to get the upper hand. I saw a sign in the men’s restroom that said, “Keep Calm and Wash Your Hands”. I’m much better at washing my hands than I am at staying calm. We see projections of catastrophic proportions and wonder where God is in all of this.
He is in the same place He was when Elijah was running for his life as Jezebel had vowed to kill him.
He is in the same place He was when David and Jeremiah poured out their laments and confusion.
He is in the same place He was when Paul talked about hardships in Asia.
“We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure so that we despaired even of life itself." 2 Corinthians 1:8
He goes on to say,
“In our hearts we faced the sentence of death.” 2 Corinthians 1:9
In other words, He is consistently present in the most difficult and uncertain of times and He is stable and unchanging. He is the same “yesterday, today, and tomorrow”. He might be unseen (see Hebrews 11:1) but He is with us. In times of uncertainty like this, we can be certain that an unchanging and loving God knows and cares about us.
In the old hymn, In That Rock I'll Abide, the chorus states:
“when the storms of life come sweeping over me, in that rock I’ll abide.”
In short, we have a very solid rock to hang onto when the storms come.
Focus On The Next Right Step
A second reminder is more action oriented. One of the most difficult things about uncertain times like this is that we don’t know how to plan or anticipate what we need to do next. For example, as I write this we don’t know when (or if) school will start, or what stores will be open, and a myriad of other questions. It’s a long list. This is tough-especially for those of us who are planners. Uncertainty is unsettling. So the question becomes “How do we proceed?”
Years ago, Margie and I were faced with some big decisions. We concluded that all we could do was act on the light we had been given and take it from there. In a recent sermon, Bill Clark described the same concept by pointing out there are times when all we can do is take what we believe is “the next right step”. We don’t always get to know the end game. To rephrase a quote from C.S. Lewis, God might not let us know what will happen, only what we are to do in the present.
Once again, this is a concept that seems pretty easy to agree with but difficult to implement. It does call for an element of trust but it’s also simply logical.
The reality is that if we start on the wrong foot, we’ve a good chance of ending up in the wrong place. Let us commit to simply doing our best to take the next right step in an unsettled and confusing season.
In summary, I believe if we can truly incorporate these ideas into our lives, it will actually be possible to find stability and direction in an uncertain and unstable season.
God Bless You and please let us know if we can be of help in any way.