During our online church service yesterday, our pastor gave a message on calm in the midst of suffering. A few moments into his sermon, he asked those watching at home to pause the video and share, one by one, the number one thing causing them uncertainty at this moment in time.
For all ten of us gathered, the answer was a variant on a theme: What happens next?
Because really, what does happen next? No one can tell us. There are guesses, for sure. But most of them come racing in from the farthest reaches of reality, extremes of optimism and pessimism shot from the bows of warring political worldviews.
The fact is, only God knows what happens next. He is the author on both a large, global scale, as well as on a smaller, personal level. He knows what financial climate will emerge from this situation as well as whether or not classes will waive prerequisites in the face of requirements unmet. He knows how long this virus will cause havoc, and He knows whether or not any of us or our loved ones will be contract it.
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”—Romans 11:33-38
While I freely admit to falling victim to uncertainty over the course of these past few weeks, I’ve also felt a profound peace. I have no control here. No, I don’t know what’s coming down the rails. The light at the end of this strange tunnel could be the fizzling conclusion of a troubling, sad chapter in the world… or it could be something far more sinister, forever altering the trajectory of society.
I don’t know.
But I know who does.
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ‘So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.'”—Matthew 6:33-34
Our home has felt joyful in the midst of our uncertainty. We all have questions, but, as I have gently poked and probed the edges of the hearts gathered here, I’ve uncovered no fears. Yesterday, laying ourselves bare before one another as we worshipped, the “what’s next?” ponderings were all unique to our circumstances:
When will things go back to normal?
What does “normal” even look like now?
How have my plans been altered by this virus?
Shared after our voices had sung ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus, the questions felt sandwiched in between the layers of faith and gratitude I’ve seen played out here as we’ve all gone about the business of life.
The truth is, we don’t need to know what comes next. Would it settle our hearts to see the future? Not really. It may answer a question or two, but it would raise a hundred more. Or it would disconnect us from the here, the now, that we’re walking in. And friends, this here and now is not limbo, but life.
This is our opportunity to be the face of the peace and confidence available through the knowledge of Christ. We are on display right now in our homes to the ones God ordained to sit under us for a season.
We are the steadying influence that points our children back to the goodness of God. We have a hundred chances a day to share His promises, and watch as He fulfills them, one by one. We are the voice that can do so much more than soothe those current surface losses, or bring comfort to the disrupted schedules. We can truly speak to what it means to find peace in Christ, and help our children learn early how to weather anxieties and fear while wrapped in the contentment that they are not alone.
My goal right now is to continue to be the presence that points to peace as we go about our days. As we learn, as we play, as we bake, as we talk, as we laugh… peace. Just think what a generation moored in a fire-tested peace might do in this world. Just think what it might mean to have leaders and mothers and teachers and artists all centered on walking in faith, not fear. What if this is the legacy of Covid-19 in the world? How can we be a part of bringing that to bear?