infinite

The Unknown

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“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.

That Mr. Irrelevant Again

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I watched some of the NFL draft today. It’s interesting to see who gets picked where and when and by whom. Plus, you get the joy of seeing the experts’ predictions blown up. You see people who stay up late at night worrying about these kinds of things prognosticating on how these players will either be a great pick or a bust.

As always, the very last pick, around number 256, of the very last round of the draft is called Mr. Irrelevant. Usually, players who don’t get picked up until that point don’t make the final roster of the NFL team that picked them.

I love the fact that no one is Mr. (or Mrs.) Irrelevant to God. God loves each person as if he or she were the only person in the whole world to love. And yet He loves every single person that way. I can’t fathom that, yet I’m nowhere close to being infinite. I can’t even love the very few (in comparison) people in my life with anything close to complete and unconditional love.

At times, other people may make you feel irrelevant. It may or may not be intentional, but the hurt is the same either way. You may feel that what you do and who you are don’t matter to anyone and that maybe the world would be better off without you in it. The feelings may not be true, but that doesn’t stop them from feeling real.

Try this. Read John 3:16. Where it says “the world,” insert your name. For me, it would go something like this, “For God so loved Greg, that He gave His one and only Son, that if Greg believes in Him, He shall not perish.”

Remember that Jesus thought you were to die for. You matter to Him immensely. That’s something to remember on those nights when you feel alone and unwanted.