Navigating Uncertainty!

Uncertainty – it’s the latest word. It’s everywhere, just like the word “unprecedented”.  Uncertainty is running amok all over the place.  You will find it in every aspect of our daily lives. One thing is certain, this pandemic has uncovered layers of uncertainty and created even more uncertainty in a world that we were certain we had figured out. It’s certain we are no longer certain. 

In reality, “uncertainty” is something that has always been there, cleverly covered over with an illusion of security, control and comfort. Did we ever really have control over life and death, or this monster called “the economy”?  Whilst we have not been “certain” that politicians, governments and officials could “sort out” our world, we were certain that the scientists and “experts” could, if enough money was thrown their way. But alas, now we know that they too are uncertain about outcomes, decisions and a virus free world. The catch phrase in every sector is “we just don’t know!” We hate that!  We want to know. We crave a measure of certainty and authority. We are in danger of looking for it in all the wrong places.

It seems that no matter what we throw at life to shore up and stablise this shaking world we have created, that it is not enough. We live in an age of anxiety.  We are shocked, offended even, that such a thing should happen in our time. We thought we were immune, but a brief glance backwards shows us generations of “uncertainty”.  Uncertainty is here to stay.  It has always been here and will be with us tomorrow.  It breeds anxiety, instability, doubt and fear. Whereas “certainty” brings stability, confidence, belief, faith and hope.  Where can we go to find “certainty”?

Explorers, adventurers and navigators in their very uncertain, uncharted worlds all took their bearings from such constants as the sun, stars, or moon with a sextant. Compasses helped them find north. From such fixed points of certainty, they explored the oceans, continents, jungles and returned home.   A ballet dancer performing multiple pirouettes fixes their eye on one point, so that every time they turn they find that one point to remain steady and balanced. In other words, if there is something stable and constant, we can find our bearings and navigate our way in a constantly changing uncertain world.

So, what stabilises you?  What is your fixed point? Your north? When everything else is shaking, your bank account, your family, your job, your life becomes uncertain in what is your certainty?

Jesus told the story of two men building their homes. One built his on sand, but when the storms came his house was on uncertain foundations and collapsed. The other man built his house on solid rock. When the storms came his house held together.  What are you building your life on?  Jesus said, his words were words that would bring life, peace, security and certainty in an uncertain world.

Throughout the bible God is described as a rock.  In other words, faith in God is a certain, stable, fixed constant from which we can take our bearings.  Like the compass, or the sextant used to navigate a deep belief in God, who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, will hold us steady and help us navigate our way through uncertainty.

“You (God) will keep in perfect peace
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” Isaiah 26:3-4

 

In my next blog, I want to share with you an image of trust and faith that will help you find that fixed point of stability regardless of the storms that come.