Certainty in Uncertain Times

Proverbs 3:21-26

New International Version (NIV)

²¹ My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,
    preserve sound judgment and discretion;
²² they will be life for you,
    an ornament to grace your neck.
²³ Then you will go on your way in safety,
    and your foot will not stumble.
²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
    when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
²⁵ Have no fear of sudden disaster
    or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
²⁶ for the Lord will be at your side
    and will keep your foot from being snared.

(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+3%3A+21+-+26&version=NIV)

Another unexpected attack on those out enjoying time together on a Saturday evening can cause such uncertainty to our lives.  Even though it happened across the ocean, it seems so close to home.  Everyone wonders when, not if, it will happen here.  It can make life so uncertain and scary.  I hear people say they pray that the Lord will come soon and I have to wonder if that is the prayer we are to be praying or if we are to continue living for Him, praying for wisdom, and seeking Him with all our hearts. I have to think of Abraham pleading for Sodom and Gomorrah, am I pleading as he did for mankind to be saved? 

¹⁶ When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. ¹⁷ Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ¹⁸ Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.^{[c] 19} For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
²⁰ Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous ²¹ that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
²² The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.^{[d] 23} Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare^[e] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
²⁶ The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
²⁷ Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, ²⁸ what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”
“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”
²⁹ Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”
He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”
³⁰ Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
³¹ Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”
He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
³² Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”
He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
³³ When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

One thing I am certain of is the fact that only God knows the perfect time for His return and as long as this earth is still turning, His time has not yet arrived.  What do we do in the meantime?  Do we fear the evil?  Do we run away from disaster and distress?  Do we hide away in our homes?  In Proverbs we find that we should seek wisdom and understanding, have sound judgment and discretion. How do we get that wisdom?  How do we have sound judgment?  It only comes from the Lord and it only comes through trusting in the One who provides it.  Reading the Word of God, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through us, and by going through trials and tribulations that build our character when we put our trust in the Lord. 

Have I had sleepless nights?  Do I worry too much?  I have to answer yes to those questions and my worry has always been things that I could not control.  That is a lack of trust in the One who does have that control and for that I have sinned.  I have also had the peace that only the Lord can give.  One example of that is a when my youngest daughter went to college many miles away, in another state, in a large city, I trusted the Lord, but not before I had a few uncomfortable nights. Then, she told us she was headed to another country even further away.  I had a sense of peace about it all.  I knew that if He could take care of her in one city far away, He would take care of her in a city even further away.  That was probably the wisest I have ever been.  I still have to work on being wise, on trusting, in not fearing, but God’s word is very clear that the Lord is by our side and when we trust Him, we do not have to fear disasters.  When we seek Him, we find wisdom, we find rest, and we have hope.  Of this we can be certain!

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila