The Great Unknown, Where Feet May Fail

A re-post from January 2015)

Unknowns make me uncomfortable, but they’re a part of life, and learning to accept that I can’t control and plan everything that happens to me or to those I love is how I'm learning to trust in Jesus.  I rest in the knowledge of Romans 8:28, which says,

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

The good that is promised will sometimes be a mystery, something that we will not see for years, or even in our lifetime, and it may not be something that we could immediately recognize as good.  It may look more like failure or heartache, but it’s all for God’s purpose, and God’s purpose is always good for those who love him.  That’s where trust comes in.  I have to trust that this is true, and when I do, I there’s a peace that is so sweet, even in the hard times, even in the unknown.

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 So if God is in control, and if he promises to work everything together for his good purpose, does that mean I should just passively sit by and let life happen to me?  No, definitely not!  There’s a verse in Deuteronomy 29:29,

 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

 My part then is to follow through on what’s been revealed to me.  The scriptures tell me to be responsible and do the best job I can at whatever I’m called to do.  How do we know what we’re called to do?  I think the best place to start is Matthew 22:37-39,

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the great and first commandment.  And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

 What that looks like for you and for me will look different in how it’s carried out.  For now, for me, I spend a lot of my time caring for my family, because my kids are at a stage in life when they still need me to be around often.   But I also have a strong desire to write, and my kids are thriving in full-time public school, so I get to spend more time on writing while they’re at school.  Who’s my neighbor?  Who am I called to love?  Those people who are right in front of me are a good place to start.  So my family counts, and as life changes and my kids become more independent, I increasingly find more time to look outside my family, to those I run into in my daily life.  The ladies at the gym, people in my neighborhood, my community group, just to name a few. But the motivation for this loving of my neighbor stuff ultimately comes from a desire to love God with all my heart, soul and mind.  I think the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts to reveal how to carry out his commands, by the people he brings into our lives, and by where our talents and desires are.

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 We will fail at times.  With parenting, there are a lot of unknowns.  Is this the right school to send my daughter to?  Will he be happy?  Is this the right way to respond to a certain situation?  Should I let her quit?  The questions go on and on.  I mess up.  My kids mess up.  God will even use those times for his good purpose.  I can’t always see the good.  But I’m called to love my kids and to do the best that I know how.  I can find Jesus in the mystery of the hard times and he will enable me (and you) to stay strong in our faith as promised in Philippians 1:6

 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Here's the song that inspired this post, as well as the title of this blog....