The Unknown

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God” (Corrie Ten Boom).

When I’m tempted to fear the unknown, it’s only because I forget that God already knows. I forget that God, being outside of time and space, is already there in that moment waiting for me. He’s also with me in the present. And He was with me when I began to be fearful.

I don’t have to understand. I don’t have to know all the answers. I don’t have to get rid of every possible shred of fear and doubt. I only have to trust and obey. I only have to take the next step of faith.

So much of life is unknown. There’s never a scenario where you will have all the facts or know everybody’s motives or be able to predict every possible outcome. There will always be an element of unknown.

You can be smart. You can plan wisely. You can seek godly counsel. But above all, you must trust God and take that first step. Then you will know enough to take the next step. And then the next. And so on until you get to the place God is taking you. Then the next journey begins.

It all starts with trusting the unknown future to a known God. Although, there is still so much about God that we don’t know. We only know about God what God has revealed to us. We only know what our finite minds can handle. And maybe heaven will be learning all there is to know about God, one lesson at a time, throughout eternity because God is infinite. Then our minds will be able to take it all in.

But for now, it’s still trust and obey. Take the next step. Trust and obey.

Saturday Night’s Alright for Slacking

IMG_1439

I did nothing tonight. Hard as it is to believe, I spent this Saturday evening in front of the idiot box with a very sleepy cat/therapist named Lucy. This jetsetter, this man about town, actually had a quiet night.

And the world didn’t come to a screeching halt.

Do you ever wonder that people forget about you the moment you leave the room? That when it comes to priorities, you’re not high up on anybody’s list? That ultimately you don’t truly matter to anyone?

Sure, I’ve felt that way some nights. But I know this.

There is never a moment that goes by where I’m not in God’s sight, on His mind, and engraved on His hands and on His heart. He loves me completely, unconditionally, unwaveringly, every second of every day of eternity.

God loves you the same way. God loves each person as if they were the only person who had ever lived and could receive the fullness of Love itself.

That kind of love meets you where you are but does not leave you that way. It can’t help but transform the beloved into the image of the Lover. You become most like what you love most. Always.

I can’t say that staying home was my first choice. Or even on my list of top twenty choices.

But here I am, thankful even on a slow Saturday night that I have everything I need in the world right here. Finding the joy on nights like this really does transform how you see the rest of your life. Giving thanks for the small things makes room to receive the greater things.

I think I’ll sign off in a bit here and go do some actual reading of an actual book, with actual pages that turn and everything. How novel.

May you know in full (or as fully as a finite human can comprehend the infinite) how much your Abba really does love you at every moment, whether you feel it or not.

That’s all for now.