If I could describe this season in a word, I would choose the word uncertainty. It seems like every element of our day-to-day lives has been stepped on by the uncertain nature of our world during a global pandemic. There is of course the heightened uncertainty of health, but there is also uncertainty about how to be around the people we love, there is uncertainty about what 2021 will look like, there is uncertainty about what next month will look like, there is uncertainty about finances, there is uncertainty about what school and work will look like, need I go on? Reality has flipped on its head. We all may have different experiences and different opinions, but one thing is sure: nothing is certain.
Now, if you are like me, this is scary. As a professional worrier, this new reality has shaken me greatly because everything feels out of my control. While this is (at least I believe, but you could disagree) a valid concern in this time, I often forget that I was never actually in control in the first place. Life has always been uncertain. Let that really sink in, life has always been uncertain. We are hyper aware of the uncertainty now, but it was also uncertain in 2015 and it will be in 2030. This is the nature of the world we live in. So, what do we do with this reality? How do we live amidst uncertain times?
This is where faith really kicks in; the not-seeing, full-trusting kind of faith. We need to have faith in the certainty of God.
Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.”
You see, faith, by definition, is not dependent on circumstances or vision. Faith is dependent on hope. Can I tell you something cool that happened the other day? A few weeks back, I went to drive to my favorite spot to watch the sunset. In fact, during quarantine I was here just about every night because it felt like a place where I could breathe and God could speak ( and yes, it is where I took the picture attached to this post). On this particular night, God did just that. When I drove up to the spot, I realized that I would not be able to see any of the sunset because the marine layer had come in so thick that you couldn’t see 10ft ahead of you. Then I hear the words ringing through my soul: “blissful uncertainty”. I gazed at this foggy phenomenon and pondered these words from God, then it hit me. Just because I can’t see the mountains and the beach behind this fog, doesn’t mean that they aren’t there. In fact, I’m certain that they are there. And I’m certain that the sun is still setting right on time. This is what faith is like in the middle of uncertainty. Faith is about trusting the certainty of God even when we don’t feel like we can see Him.
Hebrews 13:8
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Friends, God doesn’t change. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is still good. He is still just. He is still compassionate. This is certain. Like the mountains behind the fog, just because our vision isn’t perfect does not mean that the truth behind the fog has ceased to exist. God does not require us to know the way out of uncertainty, in fact He says over and over again, “I am the way”. He is the certainty when everything around us is uncertain. That is reason for hope!
John 14:6
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
Now, this is where the bliss comes in. Let’s break this down for a moment. First of all, Jesus is the way. In other words, Jesus is the way through the fog. Second, Jesus is the truth; Jesus is the certainty that we can put our hope in amidst all uncertainty. Finally, Jesus is the life. Have you ever read John 10:10? It’s pretty spectacular. Jesus says“I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”
Jesus is the essential ingredient to bliss because He is the giver of full and abundant life now and forever more. Peace? Yup. Grace? Yup. Joy? Oh yeah.
Do you feel like your life is foggy? Do you feel like you are swimming in a pool of uncertainty? If you are (I definitely am), I pray that these words may find their way into your heart in this season. After God told them to me, I was able to gain much perspective. It almost feels a bit like cheating when we really lean into this. Followers of Christ don’t have to be shaken by uncertainty around us because our God is certain. And it is in that certainty that we can find bliss even amidst uncertainty, abundant life amidst a pandemic, and joy amidst suffering. The mountains are still behind the fog, and our God is still working amidst this pandemic.
Now, saying all of this is one thing, but living it out is another. This paradoxical way of being seems impossible more often than not. But I think with a little bit of faith and a little bit of hope and small steps into the fog, we can begin to see this life that Jesus has offered us. A life of blissful uncertainty.
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