Faith in uncertainty

People struggle in life. It is a given. Frankly, it is an understatement. Illness, job loss, financial troubles, death of family member or any significant change brings uncertainty. In this, we are tested. Our faith is tested. We have a saying, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. 

I hate these sayings! In the midst of the storm we often can not receive it.  It doesn’t help us cope. We feel alone and isolated. We believe, although falsely, that no one understands. No one can relate. Our situation is different. In some ways, that is true. Your testing is unique to you. 

This is being written as my wife and I stand on the edge of a new era in our lives. We have a great life. God has done great things in us and through us. He is transforming us day by day into the people he wants us to be. We are not immune to uncertainty. It is not a necessary evil. When faith is tested, it is a necessary good. 

Testing of our faith comes from God. We oddly enough embrace it. We rejoice in it. Why? Are you nuts, you might ask? In the midst of our struggle and pain God is ever present with us. He is walking us through it. We are not alone. He can and does relate. He is able to deliver us to the other side.  We will be all the better for it. 

The potters clay if it could feel, must get dizzy and sick on the wheel. The gold that is purified in the fire deal with unbearable heat. Little does it know that the jeweler is removing impurities that corrupt its value and beauty. Both the clay and the gold are shaped and molded by the vision of another. 

Going through this process we have to give into the hands of our savior and not to the storm. Much of our stress is fighting against the storm and resisting the loving hands of God, the author and finisher of our faith. That leaves us in a cloud of havoc and chaos emotionally and spiritually. Why? Because we want what we want. We do not want to lose it. 

When you can stand on the edge of uncertainty and trust God. He will give you a peace that goes beyond all understanding. It is freaky. Really. You now want to worry, stress, etc.  It is not there. God has taken it away. He has given you peace. Now you have to walk in it. It is a testimony of God’s hand in your life. 

If you embrace God at edge you gain victory on the front end. You can wait til you are neck deep, but why? He is ready to help now. All you have to do is yield to his hands. He has got this.