Uncertainty

We all have things happen in our lives that cause uncertainty. Here are 10 verses to help when your future is uncertain.

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1. God directs our paths.

You remember reading Proverbs 3:5-6. You try hard to trust God with your whole heart, but sometimes, like Peter, the wind and the waves become huge. We try to keep our eyes on the Master, but we feel shaken. And then you remember that God asks us to let him know what is going on in our lives. He said in all your ways acknowledge him. God is concerned about test results that seem questionable. He is concerned about anything that concerns you. 

Loving fathers listen to their children when they are afraid. They reassure them that they are there, that they don’t need to worry. And little by little, the child begins to trust his father, the one he knows loves him so completely. Like a child who is carried off to bed, we can nuzzle our heads into our father’s neck resting our whole weight to the all-powerful one. The one who holds the whole world has no trouble carrying one of his children.

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2. God's ways are higher.

We look around and hear the messages the world tells us. 

You can do it.

You’re strong.

You’ve got this.

And somehow when something happens to us we try desperately to be strong. After all, aren’t we supposed to handle our lives? Aren’t we supposed to be large and in charge?

But God’s ways are different than our ways. Read Isaiah 55:8-9. His ways are much, much higher. Doesn’t it make sense then, that we turn whatever we are worried about over to him. His view is much clearer from up there. Plus God is sovereign. He knows everything. He’s never sitting around thinking, “Oh, what should I do now?”

Turning over our uncertain situations to the one who is all-knowing is the only thing that will give us peace. We can know that God can handle anything that comes our way. Nothing is too big. He is the one who is large and in charge. And all he asks us to do is to believe that. To take whatever faith we have, albeit small at times, and place it in him. And then, to leave it in his capable hands, not grab it back because we are impatient.

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3. God gives us good things.

But what if we are waiting to hear about a promotion our family needs? One that will help us get out of this debt that threatens to crush us. Isn’t that a time when worry is acceptable? Doesn’t God see the importance of this thing before us? At times, we think that if we worry enough, God will see how much this matters to us. How important it is that he answer this prayer with a yes. And once again, we need the reminder that he is God and we are not. He is well aware of not only what the job could do for us, but if it would be good for us.

Read Psalm 84:11. We need to get to the point where we trust that God does know best, no matter what we think. We must learn that if we do not get the job that we are hoping and praying for, it is because God knows it would not be good for us. If it were, then maybe he would have answered that prayer with a yes. We have to remember that God knows not only the past or the present we are in, but he also knows what lies ahead. Yes, we may think we know what is good for us, but only God truly knows.

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4. God gives us peace.

The enemy of our souls is the only one who tries to discourage us, especially when we have made the decision to trust God with our uncertainty. We get to the place where we have handed it over to God. We patiently wait for his answer, though sometimes we get a little shaky. We made a decision and when we start to falter, we go to the God of all strength, the one who can uphold us. And we once again have our faith bolstered. We know it’s God because nothing in our circumstances has changed and yet, we are at rest. It’s almost unexplainable.

Peace. We feel all wrapped up in God’s blanket of peace. Read Philippians 4:7. Whenever we feel with certainty things are going to be okay, without one shred of evidence, we can be sure God is involved. When we went through my sister’s murder trial, I remember being led to a room before I would testify. Then I was left alone to wait until it was my turn. I sat there and started praying and before I knew it, I started singing. I may have been sitting in the courthouse in Chicago, but I saw myself sitting on God’s lap in his throne room. When the police officer returned to escort me into the courtroom, God went with me.

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5. God's not done.

But what if things don’t turn out the way that we wanted? What then? Was putting our faith in God wasted? Did he choose not to answer? No. Sometimes God’s answer is “no.” But we have to remember whatever the outcome, God is still involved. He tells us in Romans 8:28, that the answer we got was no mistake. God is not done yet. He has a bigger purpose than what is before our finite eyes.

When I waited for the doctor to come in after I had an ultrasound, I was full of hope. I just knew that it was a miracle that I had not miscarried as I thought. So that week I waited for the ultrasound I was full of joy and faith. But when the doctor returned and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, there is no baby.” 

I had a decision to make, the same decision we all have to make when things do not work out as we wanted them to. Would I stop trusting God or would I believe that he is still at work? The choice is up to us. I knew God was not done; I decided to trust him.

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6. God knows the way.

This world and everything we see is not all there is. Oh, the world will tell us it is. The world will try to get us to put down deep roots. But the Bible tells us there is more than we see here - much, much more. And we need to exercise our faith and believe it when things try to blur our vision. We can thank God that he never loses his way. Read Psalm 143:8. When we go to God and pour out our hearts to him, we know that he is listening. We also know that he will guide and direct us.

When our lives look like they are in a fog, it is only that way to us. We can trust the God who sees through the fog. The God who can see in the dark when we see nothing. The God who knows what path we should take and has promised he will get us there. When we are unsure, we can rest in the fact he is always certain. And isn’t that the kind of person you want leading you? At times we can’t take another step, he will carry us. Yes, he’s that strong.

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7. God strengthens us.

When the uncertainty is becoming like a monster under your bed, it threatens to overtake you and all you feel is afraid. Read Isaiah 41:10. We are gently reminded we are not in that situation alone. He has promised that he is with us. He is aware of what is before us, and he will help us. There is a comfort that comes when we know we are not alone. But when we realize that it is God who holds our hand and God who is looking out for us, there is a peace like no other.

Even when the ground seems too shaky and uncertainty overtakes our thoughts causing us to become anxious, God tells us that he will reach out his right hand and hold us up. The God of the universe, who created the mountains and everything we see before us, tells us not to worry. He will make sure we don’t fall. He will be right beside us. Like a father who holds the hand of his toddler, we can trust that God will not only lead us, but make sure we get there unharmed.

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8. We walk by faith.

What if we can’t see what is before us? The results of the doctor’s reports, whether or not we will be able to make the rent this time, etc. What about those times? Read 2 Corinthians 5:7. This is the reminder we need. We don’t walk by sight, but instead we walk by faith. This is where trust comes in. Here on earth, this is the only place we will be able to exercise our faith. This is our opportunity to trust God implicitly. And when we struggle with doubts, God will encourage our hearts. He will remind us of what is true so we can hold onto the truth when our feelings overwhelm us. 

Faith is trusting in God without seeing any proof. And the only reason we are able to do that is because he empowers us to do it. It’s like how we believe that Jesus died on the cross and paid for our sins. Were we there? No. We had to accept that by faith. And then when we started walking as Christians, we were faced with many opportunities to trust God. You are faced with some today. And we have the choice to believe God even though we have no idea how he’s going to work things out. We still have the choice to put our faith in him and know that he is at work, even when we can’t see a thing. If we could see something, we wouldn’t need faith.

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9. There is a purpose to suffering.

Sometimes we wonder why we have to go through hard things. “God doesn’t love you,” the enemy whispers to us. “If God loved you, he wouldn’t allow hard things in your life.” We have to remember that Satan is a liar and he will tell us anything so that we will not trust God. He tries to convince us a loving God wouldn’t let us suffer. And yet, if we read Romans 5:3-5, we find just the opposite is true. Because God loves us he allows suffering. Tribulation brings about perseverance, and that will develop character in us. And God wants us to have character.

One day we will be in heaven and we won’t have trials and tribulations, but here on earth, we do experience them. But why should we be surprised? God’s own son suffered on this earth. And he did nothing to bring it on. Suffering is something God allows because of his love for us. And when God’s children suffer, God doesn’t step back. He is right there with us.

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10. God meets our needs.

God is our provider. We are told that over and over in Scripture. Whatever your need, God can take care of it. Read Philippians 4:19. God has promised something that we can hold onto with both hands. And this is a verse we need to really read carefully. First of all, God says he will meet all our needs, not just some of them. We can have confidence that if we have a legitimate need, God our Father will meet it. What a sense of peace that can give us when our money is small and our bills are big. God is bigger still. 

And he doesn’t do it according to how much faith we have, or how much we serve him; he does it according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. What unbelievable love.

Father God, we come before you and we pray that you will help us meditate on what’s true when we have uncertainties in our life. We thank you that there is nothing in our future that is unseen by you. And we thank you that you do not leave us alone, but you are our guide, our strength, and the one who will uphold us. Give peace, Lord, to those who are unsure what lies ahead. Thank you for your Son. It is in his precious name we pray. Amen.