How can we have hope in the midst of uncertainty?
The fierce battle between fear and faith is often highlighted in times of uncertainty. Thankfully, fear of the unknown no longer has to inhibit us.
Media Outlet: ELLE Australia 2018
Photography: Hannah Scott-Stevenson
Styled by: Sara Smith
Hair: Alan White
Makeup: Kellie Stratton
Models: Aleyna FitzGerald & Ondria Hardin
The very essence of faith is having confidence in what we can’t see. The context for faith has always been the unknown and yet it’s in times of uncertainty that having faith can feel impossible.
Picture the scene: A small-town girl lies awake in her bed staring at the ceiling. An old rotator fan swings around providing the white noise she uses to fight off her anxiety. Suddenly she springs to life, pulling out a small case packed with her essentials. She empties the container under her bed full of tips and the last year’s salary and rushes out of the house. Now at the train station, she gingerly buys a one-way ticket and promises to never look back. The scene ends with a camera shot of our protagonist with her head against a train window, her eyes bright.
But what happens next?
“Living with a dependence on certainty can rob us of the joys of discovery.”
I used to love scenes like that. I used to love how liberating it looked to just decide to do something and not turn back. As a child, I had fanciful ideas of booking one-way tickets to places. I would think about packing up and starting fresh suddenly and romantically, much like the movies I had seen, but my fanciful ideas were arrested every time by the same thought; but what would happen next?
Would I be like those who flourished, having sweet chance encounters with helpful characters along the way? Or would I run into trouble, realising that the grass was, in fact, no greener on the other side?
Uncertainty has the potential to propel us or paralyse us. Living with a dependence on certainty can rob us of the joys of discovery. Thankfully no matter the circumstance, God has seen our tomorrow: ‘For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, to give you a hope and a future’ - Jeremiah 29:11.
This verse is found in one of the most interesting stories in the bible. The book of Jeremiah retells the story of the Israelites being taken from their promised land and put into captivity. Captured by the Babylonians and forced to live in a foreign land, the Israelites struggled to believe that things would ever get better. What was certain was their sadness, their loss and their anguish, hope and freedom was an outcome too distant from what they saw around them.
Jeremiah, the prophet, had the unenviable task of sharing God’s instructions to Israel through this difficult time. God’s promise to give Israel a ‘hope and a future’ was given in the midst of their exile. He encouraged them not to be dismayed by the trouble they saw and the uncertainty of what was next.
Much like the Israelites, when we go through times of difficulty or uncertainty it’s easy to see that verse as a defunct promise. I remember holding situations up to God and demanding that he reconcile the brokenness or hurt I experienced with his so-called ‘hope and future’. The disappointment of past seasons can make trusting God feel impossible, but God asks us to put our trust in his character, not the outcome of our circumstances. Trusting God and having faith go hand in hand.
“God asks us to put our trust in His character, not our circumstances.”
Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus knowing that seconds later, He would raise Him from the dead. Why? Because God is compassionate, he is able to sympathise with our pain. Having faith during times of uncertainty didn’t stop me from being hurt or affected by disappointment. But through that disappointment, I was able to experience the comfort and compassion that is found in God. As we discover more about God’s character, trusting him becomes much easier.
Having faith in God means trusting in a God who wept over his friend when He died, a God who sacrificed His life because of how much He loves us. The story goes that God made good on his promises to Israel, he did bring them out of captivity like he said and continued to keep his promises to Israel and to us even to this day, proving that he is trustworthy.
When we don’t know what’s next it’s easy to feel afraid. The possibility of the next circumstance being horrible or worse than before is reason enough for us to be fearful. However our hope is not in what comes next, it’s in a good God who exists throughout time. Our hope is in a God who promises to give us hope and a future and one who works everything together for our good.
We have faith because we are assured that God goes before us seeing the beginning of a thing from its end. He knows every step we take and promises to be with us throughout.
In times of uncertainty I choose to live one day at a time, knowing that whether or not our next my step is favourable, this truth remains: God is good and he is present.
WORDS BY
Kezia Owusu
