Jasmine Timm—7 min read—Client resource
People often say the only two guarantees in life are that you’ll pay taxes and die. That’s not quite true. While these things are certain for most of us, there is actually more that is guaranteed. God himself has given us a glimpse into several realities that are certain. We know for certain that God exists (even if we can’t see him). We know what he’s moving the trajectory of history toward (reconciliation with himself). We know how he is doing this (through Christ and his church). We know Jesus rose from the grave and ascended to heaven (where he rules and reigns right now). And we know what this world is moving toward (Jesus’s return where he will judge the living and the dead). We know the final home we are being invited into through Christ (the new heavens and the new earth, with no tears, sorrow or sin–happy in God’s presence with God’s people throughout history).
There is plenty we are certain of as Christians beyond taxes and death. Yet we still struggle (dare I say, hate) the presence of uncertainty in our lives. We want to know what will happen today and tomorrow. We want to know we will be okay, and to a degree this is psychologically healthy. Of course we should desire what is good, and safety and joy and provision are good. But our sinful nature creeps in and whispers the earliest lie in the book: “You should be in control of your own life. You should figure this out on your own. You don’t need God.” It’s the same audacity Satan had from the beginning: “Don’t be satisfied with being made in God’s image and being under his care—be your own God. Ensure all certainty. Guarantee all control.”
Even more, we struggle with uncertainty because we forget the ultimate certainty that Christians have been rehearsing for centuries: Jesus will come back to judge the living and the dead. This world belongs to him, and he will come back for his bride. We ultimately can deal with all the uncertainties we face in this life because we have absolute certainty that Jesus is coming back. He will not leave us as orphans (John 14:18). And because he is with us and is coming back for his own, we can endure anything life throws at us.
The Source of Our Resilience
I often think of the resilience displayed by children who know they are loved. When kids are loved, they feel safe. When they know they can always come home, they are equipped with courage to try new things. Kids become brave when they know they can return home to mom and dad, and that mom and dad will always love them no matter what happens.
Many of us haven’t experienced this privilege on earth, at least not to its fullest extent. But if we are in Christ, this reality belongs to us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:31-39). And because of that, we grow to be brave. Because Jesus has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” we can “confidently say” with the author of Hebrews, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6). We can face any uncertainty, no matter how fast our heart pounds in our chest, because we know we are not on our own to figure it out. We have a God who feeds the birds and clothes the lilies of the field–how much more does he care for his own children? (Matthew 6:25-33)
As challenging as it can be to not know what is coming next, we don’t have to know what God is doing in order to trust him. If we know he loves us and is with us and is faithful to complete the work he started, we can tolerate any uncertainty that’s flung our way. We feel weak in the face of uncertainty, and thus tempted to seize control and certainty, but God himself becomes our strength in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). And because he is strong, we can rest, casting our anxieties on him because we know without a shadow of a doubt that he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).
Seizing Knowledge That Doesn’t Belong to Us
Tim Mackie in several of his talks highlights one of the most common patterns we see playing out in human nature. It has its origins all the way in the first chapters of Genesis. There is a pervasive temptation to seize knowledge that doesn’t belong to us. We see this pattern when Eve disobeys God by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Notice what the forbidden tree consists of: knowledge. Knowledge of good and evil. Forbidden knowledge. Why would God forbid this knowledge? Because when they eat of it, they will “become like us in knowing good and evil…” (Genesis 3:22). There are some things that are too high for us, some areas of knowledge that are too big (Isaiah 55:8-9). Why? Because we are not God. We are creatures, and creatures are limited. One of the tragedies playing out in Genesis 2 is that human beings are already like God. They are made in his image. Yet there are some ways we are not like God, and perhaps the most notable is that we are limited. God is not. There is a clear hierarchy to who is in charge, and it’s for our good because he is benevolent.
We see God’s generosity in Genesis 1:28-31:
“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”
God is generous toward his creation. He blesses his sons and daughters. He gives them food and provision in abundance and invites them into his very own life, to rule graciously over what he has created. He’s merciful and gracious to his core (Exodus 34:6-7), and all wise in how he runs the universe and human affairs. Of course we would want to listen to God if this is the case (and we can be certain that it is–he does not lie). And he has determined that some knowledge does not belong to us. It is a good gift from God to be limited, and that includes the foresight we have into what happens in our lives and in the future. We don’t have to give into the temptation to seize (that is, take with force) knowledge that doesn’t belong to us but rather can receive wisdom from God as a gift. Fast forward to Genesis 2:16-17 and we see God setting these kind limits: “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Why did God set a limit on taking from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Because it was too much for Adam and Eve. Some knowledge is too much for us, and it is God’s kindness to set limits.
Here’s an important distinction—we are not left totally in the dark. Being made in God’s image, we have reasoning and discerning abilities. We can have wisdom, but its source matters. We should be warned by the temptation present in Genesis 11 where human beings build a name for themselves apart from God. In our sin, our tendency is to rival God. We want control. We want to be our own masters. We believe the serpent’s lies and ask, “Did God really say…?” This Tower-of-Babel grasp for control leaves us restless and unhappy because we are operating out of our design. As hard as it is to not know the future, it is even harder to slowly corrode into something we were never created to be: independent from God. As the famous adage goes, “Our hearts are restless until they find our rest in you.” There is a temptation to seize knowledge that does not belong to us. Instead, we are called to receive wisdom as a gift that only the all-knowing God can give.
Where We Find Our Comfort
So, here’s the irony that brings us comfort: embracing uncertainty, accepting our limits, and realizing that we are not in control. This is where we find rest, comfort and peace. We often want to fight the anxiety that results from uncertainty by doubling down and doing everything we can to ensure control. But ironically, we find freedom in confessing that nothing is certain but God himself. No outcome is guaranteed.
What we do know is that God himself is unchanging. His love is certain. His promises are yes and amen in Christ. He will never leave us nor forsake us. And he is coming back again. We can endure any uncertainty in this life because we have a steadfast anchor for the soul: God himself. “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever…” (Hebrews 6:19-20). Jesus has gone before us and will ensure that we arrive home with him in the end. This makes us brave to face any of life’s uncertainties, no matter how filled they are with grief and anxieties. Jesus will always be with us, and we can always come home whenever the sunset fades and darkness sets in. We can be clear on what is certain—the wisdom God has revealed to us in Christ—which gives us endurance and courage to face any uncertainty in this life. So we say it again: “Therefore I can confidently say, the Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21).