Entering the Tunnel: Dealing with Life’s Uncertainties

As a child, I loved the short-lived sci-fi series called The Time Tunnel. Each week, two scientists plunged through a spiral and fell through time. They would land in the past or the futur,e where they faced the unknown challenges.

Sometimes I feel like I have gone through our own time tunnel. Each morning, I never know what will happen.

I have awakened to a friend’s unexpected death. At the other end of the spectrum, a nail in a tire squashes my neatly planned-out day.

We live in uncertainty.

It happened again. Our church is undergoing a transition. Many are hurt or confused. We entered a zone of uncertainty.

But all of life is uncertain.

James warns,

“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14, NIV)

I can plan, but I know I cannot depend on my plan.

People handle uncertainty differently.

Some are apathetic about life. They take the “what will be, will be” approach to life. Others gnaw their fingernails up to their elbows with anxiety.

Yet, all of us need a perspective on uncertainty that falls somewhere between the unconcerned and the overly concerned. I have learned three lessons about uncertainty that help move forward when life see-saws.

Times Are Uncertain, So Accept It

I look in the mirror and I see changes. The babies I brought home from the hospital are now in their 40s. And the babies they brought home from the hospital are knocking on the teen years.

Our oldest when a child did not like ferris wheels but decided to try one at the local county fair. As the basket rose, so did her anxiety. Finally, at the top she was not happy. So, my wife went and asked the operator, “Can you let that little girl off?”

There are times I want to get off the ride.

But life changes. I have calmed my own nerves with a simple mantra. Wait a year, it will be different. It doesn’t mean it will be better or worse, just different.

And every year is different than that last.

God Is There

Jacob, the old patriarc,h found himself in a dilemma. God has promised a land, but now his son Joseph wanted to move him to Egypt. What if my move voids the promise? Is God still in the old place?

So in a vision, God gave him perspective:

“I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.” (Genesis 46:4, NIV)

I will go down to Egypt with you. God has not forsaken him, but remains by his side.

No matter what happens, God is in the uncertainty. We are not spiritual orphans, left to our own resources. God is there in sickness, health, in moving vans, apartments, new jobs, and emergency rooms.

It is one certainty of life. God is there even when we cannot see him.

Live Today

I am tempted to rehearse yesterday and all that went wrong. Or sometimes, I think of the future and all that can go wrong.

But the only thing I have is today, this moment, a gift from God to use for 24 hours.

You can mourn whatever happened, but it has happened. Once the second hand sweeps past the tick mark, it is gone, never to return. Let it go.

You can do nothing about the future, for it hasn’t occurred. Worry is borrowing trouble that has not happened to make you miserable today.

Instead of stewing, do something now. What do I have to do today?

One verse I keep close to my heart is what Jesus said about worry:

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34, NIV)

What can I do today to live my life? It is the only thing I am certain of.

Uncertainty is ever present and cannot be planned, programmed, or wished away. Instead, with faith in God’s presence and his care for us, we move on.

In The Lord of the Rings, J.R. R. Tolkein recorded a conversation between Gandalf and Frodo.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

Who knows what will happen? God does so let him deal with the uncertainty, for he does it best.