The Pathway Out of Uncertainty

We’ve been living with uncertainty for over a week now. Throughout hurricane season our local meteorologists keep an “eye on the tropics.” Already at the end of August they said we’d better watch Invest 93L because it could form into a major storm. Sure enough. Here we are making preparations for Hurricane Irma to hit the state of Florida. The projections have been going back and forth for days. The uncertainty is maddening.

Leading up to a hurricane uncertainty is all around. When you’re at the store buying the mandatory bread, water, and wine you hear people talking about how they’re going to evacuate if it comes this way. On social media you see reminder after reminder and myth after myth about what’s going to happen (or not going to). The weather channel incessantly shows the path’s track and the “cone of uncertainty.”

This is all really just a metaphor for life. As the old saying goes: “Nothing in life is certain but death and taxes.” Everything else is uncertain. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. It could be good or bad. There might be failures or successes.

So how do we deal with uncertainty about a hurricane…or anything else? What is a pathway out of it? Here are three things I learned in the uncertainty of a potential hurricane:

  1. Don’t believe the best or the worst. In any kind of conjecture there will be those looking at it with rose colored glasses and those who always default to the worst case scenario. As far as the hurricane goes we are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Seems like a good philosophy for any uncertain time.
  2. Seek advice from experienced people. We are relatively new Floridians who have only experienced one other hurricane. So we look to those who have had much more experience with this kind of thing. We ask them questions, seek their advice, and listen to them.
  3. Place faith in the One who never changes. In an email to our congregation this week I wrote: “Please join me in praying to the God of creation for safety and protection. In His sovereignty, which is high above ours, He has allowed this storm to form and He has His purposes for it. But He is also the one who with only His words calms the wind and the waves. Let’s pray that if it would be His will He would do just that.”

What is your pathway out of uncertainty?

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4 thoughts on “The Pathway Out of Uncertainty

  1. Good reminder Tom. I can’t imagine the stress in Florida right now. It is stressful for us just watching from the Midwest. Prayers are with you all.

  2. Well said, Tom. And this “sister/aunt” in Illinois has been, and will continue to be, in prayer for you, your family, your congregation, your neighbors and my own cousins and their families who live in FL, as well as all the others who are/may be/will be affected by all these hurricanes, either directly or indirectly, which probably includes everyone in the country and beyond, as world economy is also affected by these major disasters. Praying too for the relief teams, some from right here in Peoria, that have gone to TX and are getting ready to go to FL and/or anywhere else needed. It’s so good to see the Lord’s people rallying to meet physical, spiritual and emotional needs at such times. Praying for your family here, too, and all of the above-mentioned needs among them, specifically when known, generically otherwise!
    Love you all!!