The Graciousness of Uncertainty

Part of my daily devotion for many years now has been reading Oswald Chamber's  My Utmost of His Highest  
 
It's amazing even after all the years the words still strike me. Here was today's devotional


It has not yet been revealed what we shall be . . . —1 John 3:2
  

"Our natural inclination is to be so precise—trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next—that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Consequently, we do not put down roots. Our common sense says, “Well, what if I were in that circumstance?” We cannot presume to see ourselves in any circumstance in which we have never been.

 

Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life—gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. As soon as we abandon ourselves to God and do the task He has placed closest to us, He begins to fill our lives with surprises. When we become simply a promoter or a defender of a particular belief, something within us dies. That is not believing God—it is only believing our belief about Him. Jesus said, “. . . unless you . . . become as little children . . .” (Matthew 18:3).

 

The spiritual life is the life of a child. We are not uncertain of God, just uncertain of what He is going to do next. If our certainty is only in our beliefs, we develop a sense of self-righteousness, become overly critical, and are limited by the view that our beliefs are complete and settled. But when we have the right relationship with God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy. Jesus said, “. . . believe also in Me” (John 14:1), not, “Believe certain things about Me”. Leave everything to Him and it will be gloriously and graciously uncertain how He will come in—but you can be certain that He will come. Remain faithful to Him.."

 

 

 I'm reminded again that my life is a daily abandonment and trust to God. Not certain of what is ahead but certain God is in control. Learning to " Let go, and Let God" He has always been faithful and exceeded our expectations.

We struggle through each day on our knees wondering what is ahead here and many times facing frustations and uncertainty, But we continue to look to the certain God and know He is with us and ahead of us. He is bigger than everything.

 

An old song has popped up in my mind today. Today I confess this song to Him

 

BE MAGNIFIED

 

I have made you too small, in my eyes
O Lord, forgive me
And I have believed in a lie
That you were unable to help me.
But now O Lord, I see my wrong
Heal my heart and show yourself strong
And in my eyes,and with my song
O Lord, be magnified
O Lord, be magnified.

 

Chorus
Be magnified O lord,
You are highly exalted
And there is nothing you can't do
O Lord, my eyes are on you,be magnified,
O lord be magnified,O Lord be magnified

 verse 2
I have leaned on the wisdom of me
O Lord, forgive me
And I have responded to them
Instead of your light and your mercy
But now, O Lord, I see my wrong
Heal My Heart and show yourself strong
And in my eyes and with my song
O Lord, be magnified
O Lord, be magnified.

 Chorus
Be magnified O lord,
You are highly exalted
And there is nothing you can't do
O Lord, my eyes are on you,be magnified,
O lord be magnified,O Lord be magnified
x2

 Ending
O Lord be magnified
O Lord be magnified
O Lord be magnified
O Lord be magnified

Giving Way

I (Lila) was faced with an interesting "dilemma" the other day. While at the airport going through a line, a young monk was walking the opposite direction towards me. In Thai culture, it is forbidden for a monk to have any direct  physical contact with a woman or it is considered unclean. These includes even "brushing past" each other. So with the crowd, only one of us could pass through while the other must step back . So who gives way to who? The pregnant woman or the young monk?

I ended up stepping back,  In Thailand, Buddhism is very strong and monks are highly respected and given priority treatment wherever they go. As a foreigner, I try to be respectful of the cultural traditions and customs of our host country but honestly,  I did have a short thought beforehand thinking that I should stare him down and demand he step back and give way to the 30 week pregnant woman waddling around.

Now, I'm sure if I did wait a bit, he would have stepped back. He was a young man and all Thais are very polite but later, I did reflect on my action  and attitude and was reminded a bit about how this situation ties into our current life being here sharing God's love. As we share the gospel, it is not with an approach that we get our way all the time but sometimes, we need to recognize that we must take the step back or humble ourselves to show the true love of God. We could even be in the "right" but that is not always for us to demand and show. Even with Jesus who "did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom" (Mt 20:28), I'm reminded, even when we see no fruit or responses, it is my heart attitude and service God sees. And sometimes, it about taking that step back so God can do the work first. And I take joy and peace in that.