Uncertainty

"I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--just as the Father knows me and I know my Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep." John 10:14-15

I often convince myself that if I worry about a situation involving uncertainty, I will be able to fix it. Uncertainty is one of the hardest things for me to deal with, because I can't control it. The truth of the matter is, I really can't control what is certain either. For some reason, I frequently cling to the sense of "false peace" that worrying brings. The longer I live, the more I see that I can't control my circumstances; but I can control my reactions to my circumstances. I am comforted by Jesus' words in John 10. As my Good Shepherd, Jesus knows me and He cares for me; enough to lay His life down for me. Furthermore, He wants to speak to me, and He longs for me to recognize His voice. He promises to guide and direct me, even through the troublesome, uncertain times.

Jesus has tried for Himself all of the experiences through which He will ask me to pass; and He would not ask me to pass through them unless He was sure that they were not too difficult for me. This is the blessed life--not anxious to see far in front, nor fretting about the next step, nor eager to choose the path, nor burdened with responsibilities for the future, but gently following behind the Shepherd, one step at a time. It is comforting to know the Shepherd is always ahead of His sheep. OUR UNCERTAINTY IS HIS CERTAINTY. He is already in the tomorrows, and all of the tomorrows have to pass by Him before I can experience them.

Jesus confronts the worrier in Matthew 6: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?'' (verses 25-26)

Jesus was wise in His choice of animals for us to imitate during times of uncertainty. The birds are the earliest to sing in the morning, and they are more care-free than any other creature. Singing is the last thing that the robins do at night. When they have done their daily work, when they have flown their last flight, and picked up their last morsel of food, they prop themselves on a high place and sing a song of praise. I learned a lesson from the birds this week: THINK LESS, SING MORE. SING IN THE MORNING. SING IN THE EVENING. Surely our weights will become wings as we adopt this philosophy. It's worth a try, anyway!

How can I keep from singing your praise?

How can I ever say enough

How amazing is Your love!

How can I keep from shouting Your name?

I know I am loved by the King

And it makes my heart want to sing!