“What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax”
“People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.”
“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” – Jesus (taken from The Message, Matthew 6)
Much of what Jesus said doesn’t make sense to us. I have heard many put this on our western mindset and worldview, which I agree is quite crippling, but the ones who heard his words firsthand didn’t get it either. That’s why they killed him…and if we’re honest…we too would have most likely been in the mob shouting, ‘crucify him’.
Jesus spoke in paradox. He mentioned a life in a kingdom that was not understood then, and not any easier for us to understand now…mostly because people think it’s a kingdom that is to come, not one that has already come and can be lived in here and now.
This kingdom, the one where Heaven exists on earth, where the economy is made up of grace and the currency of choice is love; it’s a paradoxical one for sure. It’s the world where the last will be first, where servants are leaders defined, where social status means nothing, where a child’s heart and vision is your most valuable possession, an upside down reality where cheeks get turned, where tunics get given away, where enemies are prayed for, where religion dies, where blessed are those who mourn, the poor in spirit, and the peacemakers.
What about certainty? Where does it fit in this here and now reality that so few find?
It doesn’t, at least not without consequence. What do I mean by certainty? I mean our obsessive need to be certain about everything. It’s about control. It’s about controlling every single part of life to the greatest extent possible so that one is never surprised. Certainty is the disease that nags at you to know what will happen tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, twenty years, and that everything will be okay. Certainty is born out of fear, out of fear that we might not be okay. The thing about certainty and control is that they are symptomatic. They have these little partners that they travel with: anxiety, stress, frustration, agitation, and fear.
Certainty, the desire and pursuit for everything in our lives to be perfect, to turn out okay, robs one from life itself. It robs of love because love cannot be controlled or manipulated. It robs of joy because one cannot enjoy and live in the moment, the here and now. It robs of peace because there is always something else or someone else to control. It’s really hard to relax and enjoy life when your always looking around the corner, making reactive decisions from past mistakes, wondering when and where it will go wrong and how you can prevent life from happening…which, is exactly what your doing…PREVENTING LIFE FROM HAPPENING!
The paradoxical thing about uncertainty is that it requires trust, and trust is very hard to have as the very reason the desire to control is apparent is due to fear. “Well, SHIT”! That’s what I said when that reality hit me. I realized I was in a cyclical pattern where fear fueled my desire for certainty and control and caused me to miss out on the very thing I was attempting to control.
Jesus said, “What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax.” He’s saying trust me, I got this. He’s saying look, I’m sustaining the very thing you are trying to control. It’s going to be okay; even if it’s not okay it will be okay. “TRUST ME”, is where the mystery of faith comes in to play. It takes faith to trust in someone to take care of all the things we worry about. Control is easy compared to trust. Trust is hard. Trust is hard because it requires us to lay down all the things that make us comfortable and let go. Trust is hard because it’s not about doing; it’s about a state of being. We are really good doers but most of us suck at being. I’m not talking about becoming a Christian, reading your bible more, or finding more time to pray. Those are all good things but the last thing that people who struggle with certainty need to DO is add a list of things to adhere to. What we need is to learn how to BE.
So where does all this giving up, letting go, and trust lead? Peace. It leads to peace. The mystery of uncertainty is that it leads to peace. I know it doesn’t make sense except for in the paradoxical kingdom of Heaven that really does exist in the here and now.
“Don’t worry, do not be anxious, relax, trust me.” These are not commands from Jesus that are required for you to do in order to gain. They are suggestions on a better way to live. Jesus cannot make you live like this and there is no punishment for not listening to the wisdom from the suggestions. There is only self-inflicted consequence that will rob you of the best that this abundant life has to offer. Obedience is the blessed gift we are given to enter into rest, into uncertainty, into peaceful living.
Uncertainty is easier said than done. It takes time and patience. After all, you don’t just break a lifetime of control and worry with one decision. It’s a lot of decisions in each moment, in each day, that will make the difference. It’s the decision to trust, to let go, that will be available and only you can choose. Try choosing one area to start. Choose one area or aspect of life where certainty is kicking your ass and choose to stop controlling it. Don’t know how? Ask for help! Find someone you know and that cares about you and have a conversation about it. Admitting that you need help is the greatest form of courage I can think of.
I can only speak from my own experience, but I can tell you that uncertainty is addictive! Once you experience the peace that comes from laying down angst, worry, fear, you want more and more of it. I’m not certain about a whole lot anymore and I love that! I’m certain of the fact that I am loved and accepted by God, by my wife and kids, and a whole host of friends. I’m certain that in life there will always be things beyond my control and I’m okay with that. I’m certain that I have the power to choose how I want to live and have the ability to choose joy, to live present in each moment, and to ask for help when I have not yet learned how to do something. I am certain that uncertainty is a much better way to live and approach life as the adventure that it is and that peaceful living is the result.
Be Blessed Friends…You Already Are!
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