Treasured Certainties

What are the certainties in your life? Do you count on your spouse? What about your job? Do you count on the freedom you have in your home country?

Certainties

What do you count on? Your spouse? Your Job? Your bank account?

Or maybe your focus is broader. The low crime rate in your city. The laws that ensure your freedom. The climate in your part of the world.

Unexpected Situations

At this point in time, I can count on each one of these things. They are certainties in my life—at least for now. But what would I do if I found out something devastating about my husband? I lost my job? The unexpected happened and wiped out our savings?

What would I do if crime rates skyrocketed? The freedoms I cherish were wiped away by new laws? A tornado swept away our home?

While none of these scenarios are likely—at least I don’t think they are, many of you know all too well that unexpected situations can threaten those so-call certainties you’ve been clinging to. And when one or more unexpected surprises turn our world upside down, it can threaten our peace—and even our faith.

What is Certain? What can we Count on?

The first verse that comes to mind is Hebrews 13:8, which says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (ESV).

In Our Marriage

When Things Aren’t as we Want Them in our Marriage…

Revelation 2:4 reads this way in The Message, “But you walked away from your first love—why?” (ESV)

The Lord is to be our first love. While we may not always understand what He is doing and why, we can always count on Him to do what is right. And no matter how our loving, trustworthy, and faithful our spouse, they’re human and need as much grace and forgiveness as we do.

When we Face Challenges at Work

Ephesians 6:5-8 says,

“Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free” (Ephesians 6:5-8 ESV).

While most of us wouldn’t be considered bondservants and our employers masters, these verses overflow with principles that we can apply in our workplace.

When Financial Struggles Strike

Psalm 50:10-11 says,

“For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine” (Psalm 50:10-11 ESV).

If the Lord who loves and provides for us owns everything, we can depend on Him to provide for us as He sees best. This doesn’t remove our personal responsibility to use our resources wisely, but as we know, even when we do the best we can, we can’t guarantee the outcome.

When Crime Rates Rise

Proverbs 19:21 says,

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21 ESV).

As followers of Jesus, our lives may be affected by the violence of others. We only need to watch the news to find out this is the case. However, ultimately, it is the Lord’s plans and purposes that will come to pass. We can count on it.

When our Freedoms are Threatened

Romans 8:2 says, “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2 ESV).

This is only one of the many freedoms we experience as believers. And the freedoms God gives us will last for all eternity. No individual, no law, no government can take them from us.

When Natural Disasters Escalate

Mark 4:39 says,

“And he [Jesus] awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39 ESV).

The same Jesus who rebuked the storm, is able to do so today. And even when He chooses not to calm the storm that rages around us, He is willing and able to calm the one that rages within.

You may be facing what seem to be insurmountable challenges, and I wouldn’t, for one moment, want you to think I’m minimizing them. But we can have a peace and confidence that surpasses any challenge. No matter what, we can trust the unchanging character of our God and His ability to care for us.

What frightens you? Were do you find certainty? Contact us at HopeStreamRadio,  or comment below.