If you’re feeling a bit of uncertainty, you’re not alone
by John Houston
It can be tempting to get overwhelmed or consumed with all the pressures we face. We may be dealing with uncertainty in our country, trying to figure out how to deal with inflation, business issues, or concerns about our futures.
Years ago, a political strategist said, “Perception is reality” because he realized if a person believes his perception is accurate, he will start to take actions that reinforce the perception and make it a reality.
When we can discipline ourselves to reflect on our personal experiences and consider God's biblical examples, we’ll have a healthier perspective moving forward.
Psalm 139 describes in detail God’s thoughts and plans for us:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:13,15-16
If God knew us before we were born, He knew our personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. Then, He decided which family to place us in. It’s crazy to me to think that God knew the future trials I would go through in my family and my mother's death, yet He chose to place me there. He wouldn’t choose or cause destruction for us, but He knew how He would use those experiences to draw me closer to Him and prepare me to share the hope within me with others.
He knew that my struggles as a young man would grow into the character I would need as an adult. We can’t always recognize what God is doing at the moment. But what if we got to a place where we had such deep trust in His love that we could have confidence He is at work even when life’s confusing?
When I look back on my life, I can recognize God’s hand and see His plan a bit clearer. When I’m able to bring that perspective to what is facing me today, I’m more willing to surrender to what God may be doing that I can’t see yet.
I can see this in the biblical example of Abraham’s story:
So how do we fit what we know of Abraham, our first father in the faith, into this new way of looking at things? If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it. But the story we’re given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story. What we read in Scripture is, “Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own.”
Romans 4:1-3 MSG
When we recognize and trust that God is writing a powerful story through our lives, we’re free to let go and let God be in control. God has been and will continue to be faithful, from our country to our families to our businesses.
Let’s consistently ask God to help us see things from His perspective. It can change everything.