(March 13, 2024) Angeline Selvakumari shares scripture-based encouragements…

We’ve almost completed three months of 2024. Soon we’ll be celebrating Resurrection Sunday and praising God for all that’s been done for us though His Son Jesus, our Saviour!

Time really seems to fly by so quickly! And as we journey on following and serving our God, I would draw our attention to Psalm 77:14NKJV, ‘You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.’ 

The psalmist is declaring that the God we believe in performs wonders, and is delighted to display His strength among His people. God eagerly waits to do the impossible and delights in our unwavering trust in Him throughout this journey. 

Uncertainties on Life’s Journey
Our life’s journey is filled with numerous unexpected twists and turns, such as speed bumps, blind spots, curves, sudden dips, and more, making it highly uncertain at times. Navigating through unknown roads, filled with constant changes, poses a significant challenge.

Personally, when I drive, I always rely on navigation. Firstly, to ensure that I reach my destination without getting lost, and secondly (and most importantly) to understand the nature of the road ahead. I live in a mountainous area and that means I encounter a lot of ups and downs. Applications like Google Maps help me drive more safely by providing a visual of the road ahead. For example, I can anticipate curves, slow down at blind spots, and drive cautiously even on unfamiliar roads. With GPS, I am better prepared for the uncertainties of the road.

I often wish life came with a GPS too! It would be helpful to see the end from the beginning. I don’t know about you, but I prefer knowing the end before starting anything. Not knowing where I’m heading makes it difficult for me to work. I tend to think about the result first and then work backward.

However, life doesn’t operate that way. It throws unexpected challenges at us when we least expect them. The sudden loss of a loved one, a job change, financial difficulties, or unexpected storms in relationships are some examples of things one could never have imagined.

Uncertainties are painful
I recall a couple who were married for 27 years, had three beautiful children, and were known for being an understanding and caring couple. Suddenly, I heard they were going through a separation, which was shocking. When I asked the wife about it, she said, ‘It hit me at the least expected time. I never thought this would happen.’

In these uncertain times, the huge question ‘Where is God in all these situations?’ is the most common and frightful one in such times.

Yes, uncertain times – dark times –  are hard and painful; nevertheless one great truth remains the same. In all unexpected situations, one thing is for sure: God is faithful! In the midst of fear, pain, suffering, failures, defeat, just not happiness and joy, He is faithful.

As I’ll share below, the Bible teaches that God does wonderful things when people are stranded, not knowing where to go, how to go, not sure of the next line of their future. What Psalm 77:14 says about our Lord being the wonder-working God applies in every situation and means that we can rely Him and His promises!

Trusting God With Uncertainities
I don’t know how many of us are currently going through uncertain times. But I know that God always looks after His children as we trust Him!

Maybe you, dear reader, are wondering as you read this ‘Will my life ever change?’ I encourage you to remember this… even when you are experiencing challenging times –

• God is still on the throne!
• He is still reigning.
• In the uncertain times that happen in life, we can look to Him.
• In trusting God you will be looked after and blessed.
• And He will be exalted through these situations.

Take the life of the Israelites for example. They had been praying for 400 years for deliverance from the bondage of slavery. Then the Lord did wonders, declaring His strength among their enslavers. Plagues, death, parting of the Red Sea, sinking the pursuing Egyptian soldiers in the same sea that led the Israelites safely to freedom on the other shore.

All the 10 plagues that fell on Egypt declared the strength of God to the Egyptians. Now God could have ‘taken them out just like that’ not by sending plagues, but He wanted not only the Egyptians to know, but also His own people to understand who this Jehovah is, what kind of God He is, how powerful He is! Israel’s deliverance from Egypt has stood the test of time… we are still talking about it, even now in 2024!

Handling Uncertain Times
During uncertain times, the kind of feelings that we experience are: confusion, doubt, questioning, fear, anxiety, blaming others for the current situation, anger, frustration, annoyance, bitterness, disappointment, discouragement, sadness, loneliness, worry, and anxiety that goes on endlessly!

So, should we hit ‘Shut Down’ or ‘Control, Alt, Delete’ and pretend nothing is going to happen and go with the flow?

No! We should hand everything over to our God!

• Hold on to the promise of God!
• He knows our future!
• Give your unknown future into the hands of the known God.
• God’s people have His promise to turn to, to claim and to hope in.
• In other words, cling to God!

It is crucial to pray before beginning or planning anything, seeking guidance from the Lord rather than from any human source. Seek confirmation from the word of God before embarking on anything new.

In times of uncertainty, who is your hope today? Where is your hope today? Is it in our paycheck, job security? If we were to lose our job tomorrow, can we still declare, ‘I lack nothing; my god shall supply all my needs, the goodness of God shall satisfy me’? 

During uncertain times – which are everywhere – seek the presence of the faithful God and ask Him, for He knows our future, our tomorrows, and our yesterdays. Hold on to Him and His words.

In Exodus 4 we read of Moses discovering God and His power. God asks him, ‘What is in your hand?’ Moses answers, ‘A rod’(v2). A miracle experience for Moses occurs when he chooses to place his old, wooden rod in the hand of God; it became ‘The rod of God.’

Witness the power of that rod transformed into the rod of God –

• Turns into a snake and back again (Exodus 4:3-4).
• This is repeated before the elders of Israel (4:30).
• When Moses confronts Pharoah, this rod defeats Egypt’s magicians sorcerers’ tricks (7:12).
• It’s then used to produce the first three plagues miracles – changing the Nile’s water into blood (7:20) and infesting the land with frogs (8:1-2) and vermin (8:13).
• Other scriptures tell how God used this rod, such as the battle against the Amalekites (17:9).

Looking at the life of Moses, we see an unwilling participant who made excuses and was even reluctant to return to Egypt. Uncertain times raised questions about the welfare of his family, his lost connection to leadership, the skills he had acquired as a prince, his lack of eloquence to address the Pharaoh, and the fear of returning to a place where he was not valued by his own people. 

Despite his doubts and fears, when Moses surrendered what was in his hand, it became something extraordinary through which God could work wonders and display His strength.

Are you willing to surrender to God what is in your hand today so that He can use it to perform wonders? Give Him your fears, worries, questions, confusion, doubt, anxiety, blaming others for the present situation, anger, frustration, and other such negative emotions. Let them become ‘the rod of God!’

Uncertain Times and Godly Friends
One of the reasons we have church and a church family is that when we’re going through uncertain periods in our life, we have godly people walking alongside us, strengthening us, praying with and for us, and upholding us in unexpected, lonely walks. We must develop relationships with people who can walk and pray with us, and provide spiritual counselling!

Remember Daniel? When we recall him, we automatically think of the great prophet unafraid of being cast into the lions’ den! But… go back further. There was a period of uncertainty in Daniel’s life –

According to the Hebrew Bible, Daniel was a noble Jewish youth taken into captivity from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. Imagine his uncertainty as a teenager, being taken from his family, friends, birthplace, relatives, and freedom to be a bonded servant to an unknown land. How did he handle it? He  remain faithful to his God who enabled him to find great favour with his court official (Daniel 1:8-21).

All seemed to be going well until suddenly Daniel is faced with a serious dilemma (Daniel 2)!

King Nebuchadnezzar has a nightmare; his mind was troubled, and he couldn’t sleep (Daniel 2:1,3). Summonsing his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers – his ‘wise men’ – he won’t tell them the dream but demands its interpretation. He is so angry and furious that none of them knew his dream nor could interpret it and give the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon (v12-13)! This included young Daniel and his companions whom the king had previously found ‘ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom’ (Daniel 1:20).

Everything had been going well to this point… now Daniel is going to lose his position in life, fame, responsibility… everything. All the things he had worked hard for so far seemed all in vain. Daniel was in a very chilling time of uncertainty.

What did he do? Verses 17-18 tell that he shared with his friends, and they prayed. Daniel surrounded himself with people of similar faith who could walk with him the path ahead together! They prayed, and not just for themselves but for threatened Babylonian ‘wise men’ too. We know what happened. During the night God revealed the mystery to Daniel in a vision and the relieved young man highly praised the one he trusted in (v19-23). Next day he described and interpreted the dream – but firstly told the king how he knew, giving glory to God (v28,31-45)!

Great is our God. So, surround yourself with godly people. Pray believing in God’s love, caring and power!

Uncertainties and God’s Supremacy
God’s word such as Psalm 46:10… ‘Be still and know that I am God’… is so encouraging! ‘Be still’ in the Hebrew is râphâh, to slacken, cease. The CJB (Complete Jewish Bible) reads ‘Desist, and learn that I am God, supreme over the nations, supreme over the earth.’ Let’s give our uncertainties over to our miracle-working God!

Feelings of uncertainty can lead to the prefrontal cortex in your brain ‘shutting down,’ impairing your ability to solve problems, pay attention, and stay flexible. This increases your chances of engaging in irrational behaviour and makes you more prone to anxiety, depression, and stress. That’s why it’s important to focus your mind on what matters by concentrating your heart on God’s truths.

Stillness is a discipline that takes continual, conscious practice. ‘The act of stillness sharpens our senses and makes us more aware of God’s presence in our present circumstances’ (source unknown).

Whenever we’re confused, we should look to the Lord! Being still in God’s presence means to sit, or kneel, and not speak. Just wait until you hear from Him, the pioneer and perfecter of your faith (Hebews 12:2).

And when you come into His presence –
1) Acknowledge your limitations – name your feelings, uncertainties.
2) Give God what you have – your ‘rod’ and let it become God’s rod.
3) Confess God’s promises – hopefully you’ve read at least some, even memorise them!
4) Hand your problems over to God – let Him deal with them!
5) Know that the Lord will fight for you – and you shall hold your peace (Exodus 14:14).

Again I encourage you to ask God to show you trusted people who can walk alongside you. Ask Him to teach you to be still in His presence and to learn from Him in quietness. Isaiah 30:15 declares ‘in quietness and trust is your strength.’ Remember, no matter what happens and how bleak your situation looks, trust the Almighty. He will make all crooked paths straight because He is a God of wonders!

• Today, choose someone with whom you can pray on a regular basis!
• For that matter, if you’re confident in your relationship with God through Jesus, how about you choosing someone to whom you can be a spiritual blessing with your experience and expertise.
• Trust God’s word, His promises. They’re our spiritual GPS – God’s Positioning System!

________________________________­­­­_______________

Pastor Angeline Selvakumari is Chief Editor Echo of His Call, India’s Spiritual Newspaper, and Dr S Sam Selva Raj’s daughter. In furthering Echo of His Call ministries, established 1969, Dr Sam daily broadcasts 5-minute messages in Hindi, Tamil and English on YouTube, trusting the Lord to provide for the costs. Link: sam@echoofhiscall.org  
______________________________________________