"Certainty in Uncertainty"

 

“Certainty in Uncertainty”

 

Some 35 years ago I went through a particularly difficult time in my life and ministry in which I struggled with my purpose and direction. During this period I worked at a “real” job which required me to commute to and from an office and job sites, often early in the morning and late at night, providing quiet opportunities for prayer and reflection. In those dark (figuratively and literally) times God gave me two key passages of Scripture: Psalm 73 and Jeremiah 29, especially Verse 11: “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” After almost four decades I still rely on this truth to assure me that God will fulfill His purpose in, for and through me until He calls me Home.

This biblical truth took on new significance this past January when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. As I write these thoughts in late March I’m in the preparation process for radiation treatments which will likely start in early May. My doctors are confident that this regimen will deal with the issue so by God’s grace I’ll have more years with family and friends as well as completing His purpose for me. (As an added note, my brother Dave and two longtime friends are dealing with the same condition and we’re all being upheld by many pray-ers.)

King David wrote with assurance, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me….” (Psalm 138:8, emphasis added). Some 1000 years later Paul proclaimed in Pisidian Antioch, “…When David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep….” (Acts 13:36). This gives me great confidence that “My times are in (God’s) hands….” (Psalm 31:15).

In 1958 songwriter Stuart Hamblen similarly expressed his certainty in these words:

“My heart can sing when I pause to remember A heartache here is but a stepping stone

Along a trail that’s winding always upward—This troubled world is not my final home.

 

“The things of earth will dim and lose their value, If we recall, they’re borrowed for a while;

And things of earth that cause the heart to tremble, Remembered there, will only bring a smile.

“This weary world with all its toil and struggle May take its toll of misery and strife;

The soul of man is like a waiting falcon—When it’s released, it’s destined for the skies.

 

“But until then my heart will go on singing, Until then with joy I’ll carry on--

Until the day my eyes behold the city, Until the day God calls me home.”

 

“Until Then” I thank God for my certainty in uncertainty.

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan