January 26, 2022
Relieving the Stress of Your Uncertainty
Barb Roose
Today’s Truth
“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions” (Deuteronomy 29:29 NLT).
Friend to Friend
Remember when television shows used to have cliffhanger episodes at the end of each season? There were infamous cliffhangers like Who shot JR? Would Ross marry Rachel? I remember impatiently waiting and wondering all summer long to find out the answers during the fall season premiere.
We have streaming media these days, so we no longer have to wait for television shows, but our lives still have cliffhangers, don’t they? Times when we’re waiting on God to relieve the stress and pressure of our uncertainty:
God, can you just tell me if my mom will survive her cancer?
God, when will we get on the other side of this financial hardship?
God, will I ever meet the person who will love me until death parts us?
God, will I ever accept having this disease?
God, is there any hope for my child’s addiction?
Why does God allow these cliffhanger moments in our lives? Isn’t God aware of how hard uncertainty is on us? I’ve been a Christian since I was nine years old, and yet, I have journals with the phrase, “When will it end, God?” repeated over and over again.
The truth is that God protects us with what He doesn’t give us as much as He blesses us with what He does give.
In Today’s Truth, Moses communicates God’s message to the Israelites right before they moved into an uncertain season and new homeland. I imagine that there were a lot of people who, like us, wanted to know what would happen next. However, God reminded the people to trust His promises and His character rather than information on what was to come.
So, in my struggle to deal with uncertainty, I’ve had two eye-opening moments:
- I can’t know everything that God knows.
- I can trust God with what I don’t know.
At the beginning of our family’s decade-long addiction crisis, I believed that if I knew how things would end, then I would be less stressed. Later I realized that God protected me by not allowing me to know what was ahead so that I could focus on placing my faith completely in Him. As a result, I leaned into His power, presence and provision rather than trying to navigate my suffering on my own.
If we trust that God knows all things, then it’s possible for us to trust God in our moments of uncertainty. He has only given us the knowledge that we need for now. As time goes on, God may give us more of what we need to understand the situations that are a mystery now.
That’s a lot to absorb if you’re dangling on the cliff of scary uncertainty. The first step is to believe, if it's only just a little, that God will give us what we need to know when we need to know it. I love what the distraught father said to Jesus: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief” (Mark 9:24 NIV). He believed Jesus in his uncertainty just a little bit, and that was enough.
Here’s the takeaway from what we’re talking about: We can relieve the stress of uncertainty by believing that God knows what’s best for me and those I love, even when I don’t. Where do you need to apply that truth in your life today?
Let’s Pray
God, thank You for being the God who keeps Your promises! You have been faithful to Your people throughout all the generations. You know the places of uncertainty in my uncertain life today. Instead of panicking, I choose to embrace Your promises. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
- Where do you feel the stress of uncertainty in your life these days?
- How can trusting that God only gives you what you need to know encourage you today?
More from the Girlfriends
Today’s content is adapted from Barb’s book, Winning Your Worry Battle: Life 
©2022 by Barb Roose. All rights reserved.
Originally published Wednesday, 26 January 2022.
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