“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
With this statement Charles Dickens lays the groundwork for his novel “A Tale Of Two Cities.”
You could move the timeframe up about 150 years from then to now, and it seems to fit perfectly the society and culture in which we live. It is an age of uncertainty and fear, a time of division and conflict, a world that is convulsing and being brought to a boiling point. A vacuum of control has been created, and nations are scurrying to establish themselves to fill that empty place.
The times are uncertain. The world’s economies are shaky, politicians are unavailable and unbelievable, health issues are frightening and evolving, almost daily. Cultural norms and long held beliefs have been sacrificed on the alters of expediency and narcissism and hedonism. There is no longer an absolute to which we can look and find direction, or on which we can stand and find stability. Everyone seems to believe their agenda is the only agenda, and to hell with all the others. Such a world cannot long endure, for it will be crushed under the weight of its own dread. Because of this “men’s hearts are failing them because of fear.”
It is easy, even for believers, to get caught up in all the noise. When we listen to too much of this noise, we begin to buy into this uncertainty. We start to accept the widespread hopelessness as being the context in which we live our lives. I can fully understand such fear from unbelievers, for what stability can they find on which they can establish their lives and hopes? With nothing absolute, hope and peace and fulfillment become nothing more than moving targets. We seem to be ever shooting, but always missing.
What I find difficult to understand are those who claim to be believers, yet are caught up inexorably in this same web of lies and deceit that has captivated the world at large. All the while we claim to serve an eternally unchanging God. Either we believe God is in control, or we don’t.
First of all, we need to understand that there is no power or control vacuum. That place is filled, and has always been, with the presence of an eternal, powerful, providential and just God. Disbelief cannot negate His place, His power or His position. He is God, and He is in control. Those who would presume to ascend to His place are only fooling themselves and all those who listen to them.
The sun rises and sets each day with certainty.
The seasons come and go year by year with exact certainty, never missing their cycle.
The stars and planets and galaxies move in precision and order so that millennia’s time is set by them. It is with certainty.
This is true because the Creator of it all is a God of certainty.
His changelessness speaks of His certainty,
His faithfulness speaks of His certainty.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
James 1:17
The scripture came to my mind from Philippians 1:6. It says, with no uncertainty, “I Am CERTAIN that God, who began a good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day that Christ Jesus returns.”
Again, in Romans 8:31 it speaks with a bold, resolved confidence, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” When you get a chance read the context of that verse.
When we serve an absolute, eternal, omnipotent God, where is there a place for uncertainty? Remember who you are, and whose you are, and stand firmly with your faith in Him.
Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold tightly without wavering (without uncertainty) to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.”
That is for certain.