Trusting God with the Unknown

Who came up with this bright idea? I thought rather snarky. I was feeling a little overwhelmed working on a seemingly impossible task of setting up personal goals, to suffice a newly implemented demand. The task at hand seemed to taunt me in that moment. Bombarding me with questions such as:

What are your short-term goals?

What are your long-term goals?

What’s your plan of action to achieve these goals?

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

And my thought to it all was, Eh…I’m just trying to make it through today!

The certainty of my future, had been something I was secretly wrestling with. But at that moment, the reality of the fact that I just didn’t have a clue about my future, was coming to light and glaring me dead in the face. Challenging me to face it head on.

How could anyone adequately answer such questions when they’re currently trudging through the unknown?

That was my dilemma.

And with me being a naturally goal oriented gal, the space of the unknown was quite unsettling.

I believe facing the unknown is challenging for many of us. Even as a believer, facing the unknown can at times be…well, scary.

Take for instance, the recent pandemic that caused many to go into a frenzy. At its mere inception, the fear caused a full-on war over toilet paper. (Still to this day don’t understand why toilet paper of all things). I’d say that first year was extremely tough for a lot of us. No one knew what was going on or what to expect from day to day, and planning for the future was just out of the question. Fear and anxiety were at an all-time high. Now over two years in, we’re managing but are still unsure of if and when this pandemic and its ramifications will cease.

So, what can be done when we are unsure about our future or don’t quite have a solid plan to lean on?

We entrust our unknowns to a known God.

After a day of feeling really troubled about my unknown future, I opened my bible to Psalm 56:3 and read,

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you”.

 In that instant, a sense of peace permeated within me. I thought, It’s okay that I don’t know. I just need to rest in the One who does—Jesus. The One who will direct my path as I lean not on my own understanding, and trust and acknowledge Him (Provers 3:5-6).

As a believer, we know God to be sovereign and in control of everything at all times. Not only that, but our futures are known and held together by Him, as He declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). What is unknown to us is clearly known by Him. For the most part, we know all of this. We know that we need not fear yet in our humanity, we still tend to. 

The Bible is filled with moments of God’s people enduring times of fear usually stemming from being faced with the unknown. Each time they were met with fear, God simply reminded them to not be afraid because He—the sovereign God who knows all and holds all things together—was with them.

As in when God repeatedly told Joshua to neither be afraid or discouraged but to be strong and courageous because He was with Him. Or in Isaiah, where the same sentiment was presented when it was stated,

“…do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God…” (Isaiah 41:10).

Sometimes, we just need that reminder as well—to know that God is with us. Interestingly enough, it’s rumored that, “Do not be afraid” is said in the Bible 365 times; implying that it’s a reminder to not fear for each day of the year. While as encouraging and well-meant this rumor appears to be, I’m afraid it isn’t true. However, the Scriptures do relay this precious reminder on multiple occasions, not to create in us a fearless persona but to create in us a faith-based outlook. Christ does not require us to live a totally fearless life but He desires that in Him, we be courageous—brave in opposition of fear. 

In the meantime between time, I’m finding that focusing on the day at hand and trusting God with the rest has helped ease my mind. I’m so unsure about a myriad of things in relation to what’s ahead but one thing I’m sure of is, God has graced me with today. And with today, I invest in the things I do know.

Such as, writing. Writing is not only a passion of mine but I identify with it being a calling of mine as well. With this being so, I use the day given, to write to the glory of God. Be it journaling, blogging, or crafting a faith based social media post—I write to His glory. This is my now. What God decides to do with it, I don’t know. That’s still yet to be seen. But as for today—I write. I use the talent He’s given me to glorify Him on the scale I’m currently on in this moment.  

And I believe that’s all God really requires of us when navigating through the unknown. Putting our best foot forward today with what we do know to be true and trusting Him with the future. Now that’s courage!

We may not always have a plan or goal in mind for the future and that’s okay, because God still has a plan. And as we trust and acknowledge Him in the unknown, He’s faithful to direct our path. 

I may not know what the future holds for me but I know the One who holds my future. And in those pressing moments when I tend to become afraid, I will remember to put my trust in the Lord.