Friday, October 20, 2017

Facing the Unknown .......... Parables 656

October 12, 1999

Last week, without warning, Rick’s boss terminated him. His wife Sharon is in a spin. She asks, “Why this? Why now?” Her security is threatened.

Sharon also says, “If I just knew what we could expect. Will Rick get a job in his line of work? Or will he have to start over in something else? Should he start his own business? What will happen with our mortgage?” As Rick tries to sort his options, she fears the unknown.

Who hasn’t? For years and no matter the location, my husband’s work had a shelf life. When one project was finished, we would be transferred to the next. Even though the move was certain, the location was often unknown, sometimes up until a month before we left.

Even for the most adventurous, the lure of a new experience can slide into fearfulness, even dread. We wondered, Will the new job be a reward or a challenge? Will we be able to find decent housing? Will the children fit into their new schools? Will the neighbors be friendly? We were anxious if not fearful of the unknown.

Another unknown faces Carol. Her husband died in August. Even though he had a heart problem, his death came suddenly. Carol had little warning. Now she gets up each morning alone and goes to bed with a sense of loss. As if those “knowns” were not difficult enough, she wonders about the years ahead. What other changes will they bring? Will she be able to cope?

As much as we want to know our futures, God forbids that we seek answers from astrology or anyone who gazes into a crystal ball. Instead, He offers us another solution: the fact that He knows the unknown and that He is sovereign over it.

As I consider Rick and Sharon and their fears, I recall Sharon saying, “I know that God knows the answers. I just wish He would tell me.”

God does know. But as Sharon struggles with His silence, Rick has a different take on it. He says, “God has taken care of us in the past. He will continue to do so in the future. In the right time, God will bring the right opportunity for us. In the meantime, I will do what I can do.”

In this situation, Rick is thinking about his known experiences with God’s faithfulness rather than the unknown. He realizes how fear of the unknown can pester us into impatience.

Years ago, someone told me how to manage the fears connected with moving by offering this truth from Acts 17:26. It says that God “determined the times set for them (all people) and the exact places where they should live.”

We didn’t know where we were going next, but God did. Since we were trusting Him to take care of us, it seemed logical to trust Him with the location as well.

I began thinking like a child who takes her father’s hand as they enter a midway. She has no idea what ride they will ride, but she knows that her dear father will not put her on anything that will harm her. Instead, he will take her to the one that offers the best experience for her.

Carol is also looking beyond the unknowns to her heavenly Father. She remembers Job’s words from the Old Testament: “He knows the way that I take” and God’s promise in Jeremiah 29: “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Because she and her husband had placed their trust in Christ, she knew God’s promise of eternal life. It was her hope and his too, so Carol knows that she will see her husband again. For her, the immediate future may remain unknown, but she knows who holds the future. As long as she holds on to Him, the unknown is not a problem.

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