Living in Uncertain Times

All of us are one second from disaster. Too gloomy? Probably. I've been thinking a lot about this lately as several challenges have all hit at once. There we are going along in the routine of our lives when along comes a stray bullet that puts us on the ground (I speak in metaphor).

The point is not to dwell on the gloom of this reality, but to know what to do with it. So we live precarious lives. We know that, or we should know that. Some of us spend our existence in fear - what if this happens? What if that happens? How would I survive if my significant other were taken away? What if I got cancer or a heart attack? In some ways it's a wonder all of us aren't curled up in a permanent fetal position, whimpering to ourselves.

The reality that makes the difference is the reality of God. He is the one certainty in our uncertainty, the one person in control when everything is out of control, the one calm voice in the midst of our cries of terror, the one hope when all we know is despair.

In the biblical Psalm 9, we read these words:

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

The key is knowing his name, which is an expression meaning, "having a love relationship with." To be related to God is to know we are never abandoned, never forsaken. But the path to God is one that goes through tribulation, through a recognition that we have been wrong, that we have failed him, and that he sent his own Son to carry our guilt on a cross filled with blood. The path to knowing him comes from kneeling before his risen Son and surrendering our lives to him.

He has never forsaken those who seek him.