An Article by Steve Carpenter
What do you do when you don’t know what to do? How do you manage your life when challenging life circumstances seem to be the things that are managing you? How do you make plans when many things around you are in a constant state of change and disruption? How do you maintain a faith perspective when disappointments and discouragements are the dominating narrative surrounding your current story?
These are, but a few of, the soul-searing questions that arise in seasons of uncertainty.
As we work our way through some of this, I must first offer a bit of a spoiler. I don’t have all the answers, nor am I interested in providing quick fix quotable quips as some sort of patch over real doubts, fears, and the confusion that comes with seasons of uncertainty. The fact is — these are some hard times, and discerning the right path and continuing to discover our destiny in the midst of it all is equally hard.
First, let’s get a few things out of the way. For those of us who believe in a good God, who has good plans, and has predestined us for good works — uncertainty doesn’t change any of that. We love God, we trust Him, and we know that His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We also know that we win in the end. We know that there is a new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, like a bride adorned. We know that He will wipe away every tear and that there will be no more death and no more sorrow and that He will make all things new. He is our God and we are His people.
Being certain of something doesn’t minimize the impact of uncertainty.
It’s kind of like the encounter that Jesus had with a man who had a son greatly troubled by an evil spirit. Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Here’s the thing: belief and unbelief can reside in the same soul. That’s the real wrestle in seasons of uncertainty, times of transition, and jarring glitches in the matrix.
For me, processing usually takes on a few different forms. It’s writing or it’s worship. Most times, it’s a bit of both. When it comes to writing, there’s just something about trying to find the words to express the inexpressible. I find that even the attempt, to find the language to articulate the feelings and frustrations that fester in the soul, actually does something good for me. King David did that in his writings in the Psalms. His honest to God evaluations and expressions were a necessary part of the process en route to a more eternal perspective.
When it comes to worship, I love how Asaph expressed it in Psalm 73:16-17, when he wrote, “When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me — until I went into the sanctuary of God.” There’s just something supernatural that happens when our ears hear our mouths declare the praises of Him Who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Praise, in its most raw form, is actually transportation. Praise takes us from where we are to where He is — in an extremely short period of time. It’s like a fast pass at Disneyland. It’s a true game changer when life isn’t the happiest place on earth.
So, back to navigating seasons of uncertainty.
Navigation usually involves four categories: land, air, water, and space — and it is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement from one place to another. For this writing, I’d like to break it down this way:
Land — who I am.
Air — what I breathe.
Water — what I say.
Space — where I am going.
LAND: WHO I AM “One must know oneself.” — Blaise Pascal
Identity is at the very core of nearly everything we will ever do or ever become — and it really is a big deal. Just as the land quakes when the tectonic plates shift in the earth’s deepest core, so our identity can be shaken when our world shifts and the expected stability upon which we placed our trust begins to shake all around us — whether that be cultural, spiritual, political, or familial. This can create an unexpected soul instability.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin is known for saying, “We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a physical experience.”
I believe this reminds us to return to our primal identity as a child of God. I belong to Him. I’ve been bought with a price. Without Him I can do nothing. Through Him I can do all things. He is the vine. I am the branch. Nothing is impossible to them who believe. I am who He says I am. He will never leave me nor forsake me. Life is a vapor. This earth is not my final resting place. We will always be with Him and forever is a very long time.
These biblical statements and themes are like identity waypoints in our journey through seasons of uncertainty. Remembering who I am and remembering who He is are the two main markers to keep our eyes securely fixed on. There is a lot that we don’t know, but holding on to what we do know will produce an internal calm and composure that steadies our souls when the ground beneath us begins to shake.
AIR: WHAT I BREATHE “Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.” — Moshe Dayan
Just as oxygen is necessary for our bodies to function and thrive, freedom is crucial for our souls to flourish. Without oxygen, life cannot exist; and without freedom, we cannot truly live fulfilling lives.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1
Uncertainty carries with it a dreaded feeling that my plans are in some kind of paralysis and that life is just static and sedentary. This makes it hard to really move forward. Confronting that lie is so important when navigating through seasons of uncertainty.
The truth is, “whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” We have been delivered from the bondage of soul slavery and the angst that accompanies the presence of uncertainty. Uncertainties are temporary, and much like a mirage, they cause us to imagine things that will never actually manifest. The freedom that God provides is real, it’s practical, it’s tangible and it’s eternal. This freedom is the oxygen our soul needs to flourish.
I have always loved the song, “Breathe” written by Marie Barnett. Her song became one of the most-played worship songs in churches around the world and has been recorded by numerous artists. Her honest and intimate lyrics are:
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence
Living in me
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me
And I, I'm desperate for you
And I, I'm lost without you
I know what it feels like to take 50 deep breaths a day. Living in a nation at war. Three children serving in the army in elite intelligence units and combat-heavy operational roles. As a parent, the knowing and not knowing are equally difficult. Learning not to be held hostage by the gravity of earthly realities and somehow harnessing a hope that lifts me high above it all has been my constant ambition. Yeah, “this is the air I breathe, Your holy presence living in me.” Thank you, Marie.
Breathing His freedom, one inhale and exhale at a time, helps navigate the soul through long lasting seasons of uncertainty.
WATER: WHAT I SAY “To give your positive or negative attention to something is a way of giving energy.” — Masaru Emoto
In my early thirties, I was given a book entitled, “The Hidden Messages in Water” by the Japanese businessman, author and pseudoscientist, Masaru Emoto. In his studies, Emoto found that water exposed to positive words and intentions formed beautiful, symmetrical crystalline structures when the water was frozen, while water exposed to negative words and intentions formed disorganized, asymmetrical structures. It is a fascinating discovery and a brilliant, somewhat scientific, way of saying what has long been written in the Bible.
Solomon, Israel’s wisest King, wrote in Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”
One of the most interesting revelations that Masaru Emoto unpacked in his book, after he showed the crystal images of frozen water exposed to both positive and negative words, was that we, as humans, are made up of about 60% water. Infants have an even higher water percentage, which is between 75-80%. What we say matters. Words have power and they are a creative force.
I can choose to complain or be grateful. I can choose to be bitter or to forgive. I can choose to be negative or positive. Either way, what I say really matters, whether it’s an internal script on loop in my brain, or actual words said out loud.
Jesus said in Luke 6:45, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks”.
Solomon is credited with saying, “The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” Proverbs 21:1
Watching and weighing our words, in seasons of uncertainty, is critical as we navigate through the troubled and turbulent waters. I have often found myself saying the very same words that Jesus said when the storm raged around Him in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. He said, “Peace, be still”, and the wind and the waves obeyed.
Our souls will obey too when we speak words of peace.
Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
He also said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
SPACE: WHERE I AM GOING “What we do in life echoes in eternity.”— Maximus Decimus Meridius (Gladiator 2000)
One of Maximus’ most profound and important lines is spoken right at the beginning of Gladiator, as the Roman Legion is preparing for battle with the barbarians in Germania. Speaking to his soldiers, Maximus assures them that “what we do in life echoes in eternity,” teaching them not to fear death as they will be rewarded for their bravery in the next life.
Snapshots and motion pictures
I love pictures and I also love movies. In the early days of film making, films were created by capturing a sequence of still images (photographs) and then projecting them quickly — typically at 16 to 24 frames per second. This created the illusion of motion, thanks to a phenomenon called persistence of vision, where the human brain blends individual images into a continuous stream.
Uncertainty tempts us to view life by evaluating a single snap shot, when it is but one small part of a much larger story. The challenge is to just keep moving with “persistence of vision” and stay in faith forward motion one step at a time. Holding an endgame eternal perspective is absolutely vital in order to navigate earthy challenges and extended seasons of uncertainty. Jesus modeled this perspective and the writer of Hebrews expressed it this way in the first three verses of chapter 12:
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”
Our times and seasons are in His hands. Like He spoke to Jeremiah, he speaks to us, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
His overwhelming love for us carries such an amazing promise with it, for He said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
We really do have so much to look forward to. He is preparing a place for us.
If you are still reading, thank you for going on this short journey with me. As I mentioned, I process through writing, and maybe this is just me processing. If it happened to provide you with some needed perspective, well, then I’m blessed.
I’ll end with this:
For sure, navigating seasons of uncertainty is a challenge. I think for me, the four things I shared about identity, freedom, words, and destiny are really an essential toolkit that is absolutely helping me through this challenging season — and I really hope that it will help you too.
❤️ Steve