TRUST YOUR UNCERTAIN FUTURE TO A CERTAIN GOD

 TRUST YOUR UNCERTAIN FUTURE TO A CERTAIN GOD

We can be reasonably certain about many things. In fact, without this certainty about life, none of us could function. We can be certain that tonight the sun will ‘set’. Tomorrow the sun will ‘rise’. After the February 28th it will be February 29th. This year there will be international unrest and much political instability in many parts of the world. In the coming months global warming will be identified by politicians as the source of floods and wildfires. Several high profile international celebrities will die this year. Archaeologists will make a discovery that will require some aspects of history to be rewritten. And you will certainly have one of the most memorable moments in your life in the coming days. You see, there are clearly some things we can be quite certain about. However, there are some aspects about our future that we cannot be certain about, yet in those moments we can be certain about what we should do.

¶ Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.
Proverbs 27:1

Life is a gift. Used wisely this gift can bring great joy and blessing to you and to those you serve. We have so much untapped potential to experience extraordinary fun, laughter, happiness, and joy with this life-gift. Consider for a moment this wonderful gift we each have. We are created curious. We are created to explore. We are created to discover. We are created to invent. We are created to interact with interesting people. We are created to beautify – our possession, our surroundings, our appearances, our dinner-plates, our gardens, our homes, our cities, and our school book covers. We are created to help each other and find great joy in doing so. God has designed human life to be wonderful, winsome, and slightly weird – especially when we live it the way He has made for us. Life certainly is a great adventure. 

¶ As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
First Timothy 6:17

But life also has moments that we didn’t see coming. In the Bible, Job did not see his sufferings coming. On Sunday December 7th 1941, the US Naval personnel stationed at Pearl Harbour had no idea what was about to happen – an event that changed the course of human history. On Tuesday September 11th 2001, 2996 people who turned up for work in New York City at the World Trades Centre Towers, but never saw the two planes coming that deliberately crashed into their place of work that would kill them in minutes. In 1990 I never imagined that my day would end with me in a coma in the Footscray Hospital after being hit by a Nissan Patrol while riding my motorcycle. It became a moment that would plague me for the rest of life leading to me being hospitalised on January 20th 2023 and given a very unwelcome diagnosis and prognosis. 

In her recent book, Being God’s Image, Dr. Carmen Imes recounts this moving account that reminds us that people’s futures are often uncertain.

One of our college friends suffered from debilitating migraines for over a decade. He spent his days, months, and years secluded in a dark bedroom. His wife worked full time to provide for their family. His children barely knew him. Doctors were unwilling to give him stronger drugs to knock out the pain because they didn’t want him to become addicted. So Chris suffered in silence.

One week he got a doozy of a headache that felt different from his typical migraine. After running some tests, doctors discovered an inoperable brain tumor, unrelated to his chronic migraines. They told Chris he was dying. Friends and family members were stunned. Chris, on the other hand, was elated. Finally, he could see the light at the end of his suffering! He would be healed, and he would see Jesus.

Ironically, since he was dying, doctors were no longer worried about habit-forming drugs, so they gave Chris strong painkillers. For the first time in years, he could leave his dark room and engage with his family. He attended his children’s games and programs. They even went to Disneyland.

In the six months before his death, Chris joined Facebook. After years of withdrawal due to light sensitivity, Chris could finally reconnect with old friends. Talking with Chris was surreal—he was ecstatic about dying. Grounded. He understood what mattered most. And with no mask to hide behind, Chris spoke life into each of us. Chris taught the rest of us how to live.

Imes, Carmen Joy. 2023. Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press. Page 101

Life can certainly host unwanted moments. But there is a certain way to deal with an uncertain future.

 

¶ Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

What I am telling you now is not some untried theory. I am facing an uncertain future. I am applying the principles that God has given us to live a fruitful, effective, enjoyable life. To do this we stay in the community of our church family (we generally call this fellowship). Secondly, we worship God with praise and thanksgiving both in the midst of congregation (Ps. 22:22) and in private (Matt. 6:6). Thirdly, we prioritise the hearing and heeding of God’s Word (Ps. 119:169). If there are times when this is too difficult, then let me help. Have a look at this on YouTube which I have made for times just this. And fourthly, we must continue to pour our heart out to God in prayer. Sometimes there will be times when this becomes difficult for worn-out people as well. I suggest in those times opening up the Book of Psalms to Psalm 83 and pray that Psalm as your own. I can tell you from experience that these principles help us to deal with uncertain futures. I’d be interested to hear from you in comments if this has been helpful or what you do in moments of your uncertain future.

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

THE LORD IS MY ROCK

 

Of the many tributes paid to her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, was the often noted reflection that during her reign the world underwent a series of rapid changes that were dramatic and unprecedented in human history. There were technological inventions that revolutionised the way people could access international travel options enabling them to be virtually anywhere in the world within a matter of hours. New forms of communication emerged with the development of a global satellite communications network enabling people to watch Neil Armstrong take his one giant leap Live on their black-and-white TV screens (as I did in the corridors of Corio Primary School in 1969). Space exploration, the stuff previously just in the realm of science fiction writers, became a reality with manned and unmanned voyages to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. But the past one hundred years have also been a time of great upheaval with empires crumbling, governments toppled, wars waged, genocides committed, pandemics raging, nations birthed, rulers assassinated, and massive refugee movements from oppressive Islamic and Communist regimes. Added to this has been the demise of professional journalism and the rise of internet-citizen-journalism where it is now common for TV News reports to feature footage taken from someone’s cell-phone which was posted on social media rather than the more expensive option of sending their own film crew there. And while we’re mentioning the internet, let’s not forget to mention – the internet. This alone has possibly been the most monumental change in the way people communicate, work, learn, and shop. But while it was noted that the Queen had witnessed all of these many changes, it was also noted that the Queen herself was an unchanging constant during all these upheavals who brought about a sense of stability, peace and reassurance. To millions of people around the world, she was their rock in a world of turmoil and change. Yet this was only possible because she herself had an immovable, dependable rock upon which she had built her life.  

WHEN EVERYTHING AROUND YOU SEEMS TO BE CHANGING, YOU NEED A ROCK YOU CAN RELY ON

Before David of Bethlehem became King of Israel, he was wanted man who was being hunted by the government falsely accused of treason. He had gone from being a national hero and the son-in-law of the king where enjoyed fame, fortune and favour. But then everything changed. In his journal he described this change as, “Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked”. It seemed to David that his world was in upheaval. His wealth was gone. His wife had left him. His father disowned him. His father-in-law wanted to kill him. David had no choice but to flee from his former security into the wilderness of uncertainty. But it was there that he found in the foothills of the mountainous territories a huge hollowed out rock. In this cave David found a sanctuary. Everyone had abandoned him. He was alone with no-one to help him. It was then that he penned these words of a song –

Within this rock David reflected upon the only One who stood by Him. His Rock. The LORD. So much in his life was now uncertain, but there was one thing that remained certain. Because he had surrendered his life to the God who had made Heaven and Earth – he was certain that God would protect and guide him. He knew that if he called upon the LORD that he could rest in the assurance that only the unchanging God could bring.

Even though he was in the grip of depression, he had good reasons to turn to his Rock, the LORD, to Whom he could turn for help and guidance – 

The Queen had discovered what David had discovered long ago, that in the midst of massive change and uncertainty, there is One who remains unchanged in His goodness, care, faithfulness, and mercy, who is a Rock to those who enter into His fortress of care. It is in this hollow of safety that those who have taken refuge in Him are compelled to show Him their gratitude in worship.

“This God—His way is perfect; … for all those who take refuge in Him” became David’s declaration to all those who are ever unsettled by uncertainties and great upheaval. No matter what is rocking your world there is a Rock who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving, who can your Rock too.

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.