Pandemic JoySample

Day 7: The Parable of Two Certainties

I love movies riddled with uncertainties, but I absolutely hate uncertainties in my personal life. In life, as I’ve come to discover, some things are very certain. As we bring this seven-day journey to a close, I will highlight just two of them. The first should naturally lead to the second. 

Certainty #1: All of Us Will Experience Uncertainties in Life

In other words, one thing you can be certain of in life is uncertainty. Every single one of us, even right now as you are reading this, have some uncertainties in our lives. This has probably increased in light of the pandemic of 2020. We have uncertainties about exam results, how to pay our bills, what’s going on with our relatives abroad, how our children will turn out in this increasingly secularized world, what life post-COVID-19 will look like . . . and so on and so forth. But we can be certain that all of us are experiencing uncertainties

So how do we handle the uncertainties in our world?

I can think of two possible ways: choose anxiety or choose certainty #2.

We choose anxiety when we assume the worst, doubt the promises of God, or compare ourselves to the many competing standards of our world.

Certainty #2: The Prince of Peace Is Always Near

You are never away from God’s reach. As a matter of fact, Paul’s admonition in Philippians 4 to “be anxious for nothing” was hinged upon the nearness of God. “The Lord is ever present with us [so] Don’t be anxious about things; instead, pray.” (Philippians 4:5-6a VOICE).

Prophet Isaiah prophesies: “When you face stormy seas I WILL BE THERE WITH YOU with endurance and calm; you will not be engulfed in raging rivers. If it seems like you’re walking through fire with flames licking at your limbs, keep going; you won’t be burned. Because I, the Eternal One, am your God. I am the Holy One of Israel, AND I WILL SAVE YOU . . .” (Isaiah 43:2-3 VOICE).

In Acts 1 Luke records how Jesus’s disciples asked Him a time-related question—they wanted to know when He was going to free Israel from Rome. See how Jesus responds: “The Father sets those dates,” he replied, “and they are not for you to know.” (Acts 1:6-7 TLB) I love Jesus’s response. It’s okay to not know everything. It’s okay to have certain uncertainties, but we must not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the uncertainties; rather, we must let our uncertainties lead us into the safe and familiar arms of Who we certainly know is there with us: Jesus Christ.

If all you know in your uncertainties is that Jesus is certainly with you, that is enough—more than enough.

We hope this Plan encouraged you. Explore Other Resources from Joseph Ola