Last week, our squad
jumped in a bus and headed to Rwanda.
34 of us
on 1 bus
infected with 1000’s
of cockroaches
for 28 hours
with 1 stop for food!
Surprisingly, I think we’ve all become so accustomed to the
monthly “travel day” to the next unknown place, that it didn’t really
phase most of the squad. I definitely could have complained a lot, but I didn’t
see the need in it…so I embraced the uncertainty of a new place using the
most random form of transportation to get there!
With every new country, new contact and new ministry, it’s
easy to get caught up in expectations. We were told at Training Camp to drop
all expectations…not to expect who your team would be, who your contacts would
be, how you would live or what you would do. At that time, I pretty much let go
of all expectations and I think it has made the last 5 months much less
stressful than it could have been. Even the bus ride from Kenya to Rwanda could
have been pure torture had I expected a luxury American bus…although it was
considered African luxury!
As we arrived here in Rwanda, my team was discussing
expectations and whether or not we could truly have none. I said the same thing
I said after training camp…”I expect nothing else but to see God move.”
And I still stand on that principle. As I look at my life
now, I truly believe that as I give up on expectations of life, God will truly
shine through and reveal Himself in a way that wouldn’t be possible if my eyes
were on expectations of this world.
So I was preparing for my first sermon last weekend (let me
just point out that here in Rwanda, our ministry is to give about 10 sermons a
week. I had never really preached, but I jumped right in and figured, “heck,
why not?!”). So the idea of expectations and uncertainties came up again. I had
been reading Mark Batterson’s book “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day” over
the last couple days and it went along perfectly with our my team’s discussions
on expectations. But as I researched the ideas and took a look at my own life,
I found that the principle of Embracing Uncertainty applied as much to my life
as the people I was preparing the sermon for (duh!).
These are pretty much the ideas behind embracing uncertainty
that I found to be totally true:
There are thousands of variables
in life and they all add up to 1 thing: an uncertain outcome.
Embracing uncertainty is a
dimension of faith.
o
Jonathan did it in 1 Samuel 14:6-7.
o
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did it in Daniel
3:17-18.
o
David did it in 1 Samuel 17:34-50.
o
Peter did it in Matthew 14:25-31
They did not know what was coming
next or have full assurance in their own safety, but they knew that God knew.
And that was enough for them.
Don’t make your own plans with
your own knowledge without seeking Him. Seek His face and He’ll lay your plans
out before you.
We all want control, but the
decision to follow Christ is a relinquishment of control.
“Our confidence isn’t contingent upon our circumstances. Our confidence
is contingent upon the character of God. Our circumstances may not make sense,
but we know that God is planning His work and working His plan.” -Mark
Batterson
Don’t be afraid to:
o
Talk to that stranger about Jesus
o
Pray for healing for the sick
o
Share your testimony with a random person
o
Give $500 to someone if God tells you to
o
Move to another country if God is leading you to
o
Go back to school and begin a new career
Because uncertainty in life is
guaranteed, but God says He will never forsake you. Trust Him to see you
through and take every opportunity to step out in faith and see Him glorified.
So no matter where we go, no matter what giants we come up
against, what fires we walk through or what comes against us, we have full
assurance to God is the only certainty in life. We never know if our family
member is going to get cancer. We never expect when we are about to get laid
off from a job. We are never certain whether we will live through tomorrow.
But, we are certain that God will lead us through each thing as it comes.
If I look back 4 years ago, I see that life was uncertain. I
had the rug pulled out from under me, but God used it all to bring me to this
point right now. He never once forsook me. He never gave up on me. When
everything in life was uncertain…when every expectation I had in life was
demolished…God was certain!
I went from that to Rwanda…well, more than that, but that’s
where I am at this moment. I thought my life was over because I had
expectations in the world. As soon as I began to seek God’s face and not my own
plans, He took my life and laid a path out in front of me. I can’t imagine
being anywhere else right now. I can’t imagine having expectations in the
world. I expect God to move…in whatever way He sees fit.
If that’s in ministry, so be it.
If that’s in family, bring it on.
If that’s in my life, heck yes!
My future is uncertain. So is yours! Tomorrow is a mystery.
But God knows. So who better to put our trust in than the God of the universe?!
Seek His face and trust Him to deliver in His ways…He will and it will blow
your mind! Let Him take you on the ride of a lifetime as you give up every
expectation to Him. Be certain in Him and His plans for you…and walk it out in
boldness!
You don’t have to know where you’re going. In fact, it may
be the scariest thing you’ll ever do…but know that He will move when you step
out in faith to put your certainty in Him alone.
Embrace the uncertainty of your life…and live it!
