“Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.” ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We live in uncertain times, right? But we aren't the first generation to face uncertainty. In fact, every generation lives in uncertain times, don't they? Everyone has experienced those disturbing moments. As soon as you feel settled, something happens to shift the ground beneath you. You're startled and look around trying to figure out what happened, how to respond and how to plan for the future. COVID did just that to all of us. We had our routines and plans. We had our ideas of how life should proceed and then...BAM!...everything changed seemingly overnight. We all experienced that at the same time, but you and I have also had our own BAM moments. Suddenly, life was changed and it was hard to know how to move forward. 

How flexible are you when BAM hits you? No matter how much you think that you go with the flow, I'll bet that you still have moments when you  aren’t sure what your next step should be. You stand poised on one foot and look for a place to put the other one down, balancing precariously until you see the next open place. That's how we move forward, isn't it one step at a time?

I wonder how Jesus handled the times of uncertainty He faced. Weren't His times as unstable as ours? Yeah, we have technology and conveniences that He didn't have, but don't you find that sometimes those things complicate our lives more than they stabilize them? What did Jesus do when life changed instantly? Joseph disappears from the biblical narrative sometime after Jesus visited Jerusalem with His parents around the age of twelve. (Luke 2: 48) How did Jesus handle the loss of His earthly father? Was it a long and painful good-bye or was it unexpected and shocking? That is only one of the human challenges He faced. How did Jesus meet His challenging times? 

The Bible doesn’t give us the details, but what we do know indicates how He might have responded to His life’s stresses and uncertainties. 

He stayed connected to the Father. Yes, Jesus was God, the Son of God, the exact representation of the Father. (Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:15) But He was fully human, and while His feet walked on this third rock from the sun he functioned as you and I do, but in perfect union with the Father and under the direction of the Holy Spirit. He only did what the Father told Him to do and only said what the Father told Him to say. (John 5:19; John 12:49) He listened and obeyed. How much do I do that?! 

Throughout the Scriptures there are numerous descriptions of Jesus taking time alone to pray. Luke 5: 16 says that He would often slip away alone to pray. I imagine that those prayer times were His opportunity to process challenges in the presence of the Father. Sounds like a good plan for you and me, don’t you think?

He stayed focused on purpose. He knew from His earliest awareness what He was born for and what He had come to accomplish. Since He lived as a human, within our limitations, I don’t think that He knew everything all at once. He most likely would have experienced the unknowing that you and I do — wondering, not exactly certain of outcomes. I imagine that He had certainty about some things because of His sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit revealed things to Him they settled in Him and settled that uncertainty, but I imagine He also experienced all the questions of future that we do. 

He laid aside omniscience. As God He would have known everything, but as a human He could only know what was revealed to Him. 

He laid aside omnipresence. As God He could be everywhere at once, but as a human He could only be in one place at a time.

He laid aside omnipotence. As God He had all power. As a human He only had whatever power was given to Him. 

Staying focused on why He was sent — to sacrifice Himself for the salvation of all humanity— enabled Him to lay aside anything that would prevent Him from fulfilling that purpose, even all His divine power. 

You and I obviously don’t possess any divine power, except whatever God may give us in a moment for His purpose, but we do have gifts and abilities. We do have rights and privileges. In the midst of the challenges we face, what if we stayed focused on fulfilling God’s purpose for us and laid aside everything that would get in the way?

He trusted and obeyed. By the time Jesus got to the Garden of Gethsemane He had a pretty clear idea of what the Father was asking of Him. He had told the disciples that He would be killed... and that He would rise again! (Matthew 16:21-23) Of course his friends didn’t pick up on the resurrecting part. Their brains couldn’t absorb such a radical concept. But let’s focus on how Jesus handled that knowledge. He asked to skip it. “Father, if You are willing, let this cup pass from me....” Having a clue wasn’t really helpful at that moment, was it? 

There is something in you and me that just wants to know what is going to happen. We think that knowing what will happen then will make now easier. That isn’t what happened for Jesus. As He pondered the prospect of pain and suffering, He had to choose to obey what the Father was asking and trust that the outcome, the resurrection, would be as the Father had said. Obedience and trust. In the midst of uncertainty He obeyed the Father and trusted in the goodness of His character. In times when there was a lot He didn’t know, He relied on what He did know to help Him choose to trust and obey. 

I know that trust and obedience don’t come easily for me. I imagine that they don’t come easily for you either. I like to be able to manage outcomes. To anticipate how something might turn out and adjust in advance to avoid difficulty and smooth out the process. Even when I have a pretty clear picture of what God might be asking of me — the Scripture makes it clear how I should behave with difficult people for instance— patience, gentleness, forgiveness—  I will look for a loophole, a way to avoid the whole thing or something that will change the inevitable outcome. It doesn’t really work. In those cases, I need to follow Jesus’ example — to obey what God’s Word says and to trust that He will do what is best for me. I have to leave the outcome in HIs hands. Trust and obey. Clear. Simple. Not easy!

Dear Friend, you've got a lot of uncertainty right now,  I know. We all do! But Jesus showed you the way, my friend. Stay connected to the Father. Stay focused on purpose. Trust and obey. We can be active in uncertainty when we focus our action on faith and move forward just one step at a time. You can do this! He’s got you!

Key thought: Jesus fully experienced humanity and showed us how to face an uncertain future.

A Scripture to consider: “Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.” ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A YES challenge: Take some time to process your current challenges in God’s presence. Ask Him all your questions. Present Him all your fears. Tell Him the outcome you would like to see, but then release the outcome into HIs hands and trust in the goodness of His character. 

Prayer: Jesus, You know what it is like to face an uncertain future. I forget that You experienced all that I do when You lived on earth. You struggled as I struggle. You questioned as I question. Yet, You fully trusted in the love of Your Father. You completely obeyed Him, even when it cost You everything, so that You could fulfill the purpose You were sent for. Help me to completely trust and fully obey. Help me to fulfill the purpose I was created for and bring glory to the Father. Amen.