Gracious Uncertainty

Oswald Chambers devotional

from My Utmost For His Highest (April 29th)

Gracious Uncertainty

"...it has not yet been revealed what we shall be..." (1 John 3:2)

Our natural inclination is to be so precise--trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next--that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Consequently, we do not put down roots. Our common sense says, "Well, what if I were in that circumstance?" We cannot presume to see ourselves in any circumstance in which we have never been.

Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life--gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. As soon as we abandon ourselves to God and do the task He has placed closest to us, He begins to fill our lives with surprises. When we become simply a promoter or a defender of a particular belief, something within us dies. That is not believing God--it is only believing our belief about Him. Jesus said, "...unless you...become as little children..." (Matthew 18:3). The spiritual life is the life of a child. We are not uncertain of God, just uncertain of what He is going to do next. If our certainty is only in our beliefs, we develop a sense of self-righteousness, become overly critical, and are limited by the view that our beliefs are complete and settled. But when we have the right relationship with God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy. Jesus said, "...believe also in Me" (John 14:1), not, "Believe certain things about Me." Leave everything to Him and it will be gloriously and graciously uncertain how He will come in--but you can be certain that He will come.
Remain faithful to Him.

.........
Oh! What truth! What wisdom! What divine inspiration from God!

Every so often, I do that thing that you're not supposed to do.

I say, "God, teach me/give me something for today wherever I end up." Then I flip open my Bible and start reading for God's divine message.

We're typically not encouraged to do this, because it's almost a way of testing God/His divine Word.
When we don't 'find' or 'get' something that day, it's easy to dismiss God's power of divinely teaching through his Word and divinely orchestrating everything in our day.

However, today I wanted to try it. Not to test God, but to see what might happen.
Oh! The possibilities!

And God gave me this devotional. Yes, he knew I might read it years from now with different needs and areas for learning, but I believe he planned for me to read it this very day as well.

There are a lot of things up in the air for me right now. A LOT of uncertainty.

And on a good day, I am believe God's Word, remember His truth, abide in His promises.
But those are quickly followed by doubt, mistrust, fear, worry, and panic -sometimes so overwhelming that I forget God and His promises. All truth flees my mind.

I have been learning that when this happens, at the root, I'm truly just trying to control my life and figure it all out. When I do so, I become fearful, stuck in doubt, and rooted in worry.....basically, miserable.

But, Oh!
After reading Chambers' words,
being reminded of God's great love for me (John 3:16),
and remembering His promises of never leaving/forsaking me (Deut. 31:6),
and remembering that He keeps all of His promises (Ps. 145:13),
and remembering that God gives me what I need at the proper time & satisfies every desire (Ps. 145:15, 16, 19)
There is such freedom in Christ.
In knowing God and His truth.
In abiding in His image, identity, and love for me"...gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God."

.................................
I choose that today.
.................................

I choose to live in gracious uncertainty and breathless expectation.

Live modestly

Life Lessons / Expertise

Don't put every thing on the line.
I set aside money for playing poker, and I risk only
a small amount of it on each game. You can't take
advantage of big financial opportunities (a passion,
a new job, a potential investment) if you're too
stretched. That means you need to maintain a lifestyle
that's more modest than you can actually afford. Even
then, you should never put all your time or cash into
one venture. The odds of ruin are just too high.

Annie Duke is a Los Angeles-based professional
poker player. She won the World Series of Poker
Tournament of Champions in 2004 and the
National Heads-Up Poker Championship in 2010.
via Real Simple: February 2012.

God's Love Letter

    It is enjoyment in an ultimate victory that can be expressed
 only in the high language of poetry, not the low language
 of fact. What can we prove about Christ's coming in glory?
 Nothing. It is far beyond the language of limited proof. Indeed,
 our entire faith rests on a joyous acceptanceof the factually
 impossible. When we celebrate Christmas we are celebrating
 that amazing time when the Word that shouted all the galaxies
 into being, limited all power, and for love of us came to us
 in the powerless body of a human baby. My faith is based on
 this incredible act of love, and if my faith is real it will be ex-
pressed in how I live my life, but it is outside the realm of lab-
oratory or scientific proof. God--the holy and magnificent
 Creator of all the galaxies and solar systems and planets and
 oceans and forests and living creatures--came to live with us,
 not because we are good and morally virtuous and what
 God's creation ought to be, but precisely for the opposite rea-
son, because we are stiff-necked and arrogant and sinful and
 stupid. We have indeed strayed from God's ways like lost sheep.
     God still loves us so much that Christ, the second person of
 the Trinity, the Word, came to live with us as one of us,
and all for love.

December 27 (p 333-334) of Madeleine L'Engle's Glimpses of Grace

Here are some commercials I've been loving lately:







For some reason I started watching birth announcement videos on youtube.
This one is my favorite : )



And yes, I may have teared up a little : )
Hormonal much? : )