The Flame Within

Personally, I feel that uncertainty is the scariest aspect of life! In the midst of uncertainty, nothing feels certain or graspable, and the future is always completely unpredictable! The funny thing is that nothing in this world is ever certain… ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Over the last two years, our family has seen this ugly and hard to swallow fact of life in vivid detail! Loss of loved one’s, unexpected job transitions, moving to a new state, and much more!

The only thing I’ve encountered in this world that is certain and constant is my Heavenly Father! Jobs, relationships, friendships, finances, health, and everything this world has to offer is all filled with a level of unknown! The agnostic life style literally terrifies me, as it leaves out the only certain aspect of living in a difficult world, the love and provision of God!

Currently, the future in many ways seems more unclear than normal, but I am reminded that nothing is ever perfectly planned, organized, or certain!

“Life’s what happens when you have other plans!”

I’ve always hated this saying, especially when it was said to me countless times during the days of my youth! The times it was said, was rarely in love and empathy, but rather… “Yea, life is hard! Accept it and get over it!” Yet, the statement is absolute truth!

For example, I wasn’t planning to get an unkind message from an extended family member again this evening! I wasn’t planning to lose my grandmother in the midst of a pandemic, when I had very little time to see her over the last year! Nor was I planning for a ton of oil to spill on our driveway this afternoon! Life just happens! The good, the bad, the joy, the sad, and the frustrating! Life is complete with a wide array of emotions!

In my attempt to control my life and the world around me, I realize what little control I actually have over life’s happenings! I control to feel safe, secure, and to feel empowered over the powerlessness of this life! During the times when life spins out of my control, I grasp for certainty, assurance, comfort, promises, answers, and security! Other than temporary and false fulfillment, without God life is dim, scary, meaningless, and overwhelming! Without maintaining my focus on God’s love and his promises, there is absolutely no assurance!

“The farther I get from God, the more anxious I become!”

Being a Christian doesn’t make me immune to life’s trials, I still face uncertainty, fear, powerlessness, and frustration. Through Christ, I have assurance of my salvation, knowledge and wisdom to endure the difficult trials before me, and comfort to face the losses and difficulties of life! I have everything I need through my Heavenly Father!

Friends, if you’re walking through fear and uncertainty, I encourage you to take your focus off the world and look to God! He will sustain you and will be your ever present help in times of trouble!

Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Blessings, Crystal

1 Corinthians 15:57 “ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”