A Time of Uncertainty

We are in the midst of a very scary time right now. It may be the most difficult and challenging time most of us have ever seen or gone through. The state of the world as we’ve known it, I believe, will change. People all around the world, young and seasoned, are becoming sick from a virus mankind has not encountered before. A virus with no cure or vaccine ready for human consumption. Loved ones are dying. Businesses are closing. More and more people are losing their jobs. If you haven’t lost your job, you may have entered the world of working from home. Families are being physically cut-off from one another. And children have been pulled from their friends, teachers, and everyday learning and activities. What is really going on!? It’s a little frightening and overwhelming. BUT no matter how grim and hopeless things may seem, we must remember that we serve a God that is still in control!

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We watch the news and they give us facts, figures, and updates on the science of the situation. We hear every day on what the government is or isn’t doing. All of this information for some can be helpful, giving them a sense that they understand what is going on, and also, empowering them to take action or control of the things they are responsible for or accountable to. However, just as you think you understand, something happens or changes that don’t quite make sense. Then we are reminded that we are not to lean on our own understanding, we must trust in the Lord with all our hearts! (Proverbs 3:5) We must trust in His divine order and that He has His reasons for doing what He is doing. I’m not saying we have to like it, I’m simply saying we have to trust Him. He never said “Understand Me”, he said, “Trust Me!”

While lots of information is good for some, it can add to overwhelming feelings of uncertainty, depression, and hopelessness for others. How do we deal with these feelings? There is no easy solution that will dissolve these feelings, but we can start by holding on to our faith, trusting in the Lord, and go to Him with our worries and concerns: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.“ (Matthew 11:28) In Him is where our comfort and rest needed by our souls lie. Only God can give us what we need to weather the storms within. He will bring us through this time!

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These times are so uncertain, and uncertainty can cause worry. We worry about having enough; having enough food, money, health insurance, clothing, time, etc. I have to admit, I am a worrywart. It is a part of my nature. I’m learning to worry less and less, as worry is the opposite of faith. To overcome our worries, He tells us in Matthew 6:25-27, 31-34:

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²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

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Some of us have been shut in for more than 6 weeks now. I know it seems like forever and there is no end in sight. Our children and spouses may be driving us crazy. Or we may be weathering this with no companionship. We enjoy our everyday routines, even more so now than ever. We miss our families, friends, and peers. We want to go to our favorite restaurants and enjoy the beach and parks. We need our lives to get back to some sort of normalcy! Just know this is only for a little while. This will not last forever. Right now God is simply asking us to:

Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by.

Isaiah 26:20