Unafraid of an Unknown Future
I have always enjoyed getting in the car and going for a drive with no real plan or idea where I was going. (Logging Roads on Mount Rainier / Back Roads of The Ozarks)
In fact…sometimes I have gotten in the car and purposely tried to get lost. I enjoy taking new roads…not really sure where they might be leading me.
I love doing that in a car…I’m not real fond of the same experience when it comes to life. How about you?
Destination Unknown may be okay for a road trip…but when it comes to life…that’s a different story all together.
We tend to admire the great adventurers who have risked life itself to step into the unknown.
Columbus - in a day when everyone said the earth was flat…he set sail for India going in the opposite direction.
The men who walked on the moon.
I will never forget watching Felix Baumgartner jump from the edge of space…skydiving 24 miles…safely back to earth.
I admire his stepping out into the unknown…but that doesn’t mean I want to try it.
The thought of an unknown future can be terrifying. It’s the sort of thing that can keep you up at night. We may like surprise parties…but we don’t tend to enjoy life throwing us a surprise. We crave security, stability, and clarity.
We have a desire to know and control our futures. We are uncomforable in the space of the unknown. The unknown can be scary.
We want to know what is coming next and how that will affect our future. We want to be able to plan and be prepared for what’s coming next. We don’t like being in the dark. It’s the “not knowing” that can cause us to know stress on a first name basis.
We believe that if we know what to expect…it gives us a certain measure of control over our life. There are so many unknowns:
How long will I live?
How will things turn out?
Will I fall in love?
Will there be enough for me when I retire?
How will I take care of my kids and their college education?
What will happen if we get sick and don’t have insurance?
When will this social distancing stuff be over?
How are we going to pay our bills?
Will we still have a graduation?
Will I be laid off from work and what will I do if that happens?
The questions of the unknown go on and on and on…
Do you feel as though your on a destination unknown?
Maybe you just lost your job or have been laid off?
Perhaps you are going through the heartache and sorrow of a broken relationship?
Maybe your destination unknown is the beginning of retirement…or you’re beginning college soon…or you’re in the middle of a transition and the world seems to be falling apart all around you…and you’re not really sure how it’s all going to work out.
And…truth is…although you are trying your best to live by faith…you’re worried.
Jentezen Franklin: “Worry doesn’t make you weak…it makes you human.”
Worrying can be the biggest enemy of peace and joy in our life. I have serveral big “what ifs” in my life right now.
In a world where “visionaries” are praised…I typically I feel a bit like comedian Steven Wright who said, “I’m a Periphreal Visionary. I can see the future…but only way off to the side.”
Life is filled with unknowns…and that’s never going to change.
But there is a way to live life UNAFRAID OF AN UNKNOWN FUTURE.
You see…in the unknown…there is Someone who can be known…Someone who desires to be known. Someone that when you know them…you can face an unknown future unafraid.
Hebrews 11:8 (NLT) - “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and to go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.”
Hebrews 11:8 (MSG) - “By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going.”
Hebrews 11:8 is referencing Genesis 12.
Genesis 12:1 - “The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land I will show you.”
Basically: Abram…leave everything your familiar with. Leave everything you’ve grown accostumed to. Leave everything that’s confortable and convenient. Walk away from your memories…your family…your security. Start walking and I’ll tell you when to stop.
This had to have been a huge shock…not just for Abram…but for those closest to him. Why? Because from the looks of things: Abe had it made right where he was.
He grew up in Ur. National Geographic released an article in 2016 that said:
Ur was the center of the wealthiest empire on earth at the time.
Archaeologists say Ur was a bustling port on the Euphrates River.
It was a center of commerce and trade…and worship.
They were the first people to have their own written language.
They were the first to develop mathmatics and the first to become experts in Astronomy.
In fact…many Archeologist believe Abraham may have very well been the person who introduced the Egyptians to mathematics and astronomy.
The city was home to more than 60,000 people.
There was a Starbucks on every corner.
Most of the population was well to do. Most lived in large homes with their own courtyards and even an early form of plumbing.
Of all places to be…UR was THE place to be in Abraham’s day.
This was home. He was comfortable there. He grew up there. He knew every shortcut. When he went to the grocery…he knew everyone he ran into…and they knew him. He was still friends with the kids on his little league team. He was established there. Life was routine…predictable…even easy.
And God says, “walk away from it all.”
He didn’t have a map.
He didn’t have GPS on his cell phone.
There weren’t any moving companies to call.
Think about the challenge Abram must have faced just trying to convince his wife this was a good idea!
Abraham didn’t even know where it was he was going. The details were completely unknown. People had to have watched him leave…thinking, “Abraham is nuts.” Yet he went anyway.
Genesis 12:4 says, “Abram departed as the Lord had instructed.”
Why do you suppose that was?
One possibility is that while He didn’t know where He was heading…He did know part of the why he was going and the what would happen as a result.
v.2,3 - “I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others…All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
Now…those are awesome promises…But I don’t think they are the reason Abraham left. After all…what reason would Abram have had to believe those things anyhow?
He was raised in a pagan culture. Joshua (24:2) says that “Terah, the father of Abraham worshipped other gods.” Abraham was raised in a society and in a home in which idol worship would have been the norm.
There’s only one reason Abram would have ever believed those promises…packed up and left everything he’d ever known to go to a place that was entirely unknown. Something happened that made leaving the familiar and stepping into the unknown…the only viable option on the table. Abraham had to have had an experience with God that so convinced Him that going was a no brainer.
One encounter with God can change everything.
God’s message…the encounter Abraham had with God must have been incredibly clear and convincing. In Acts 7:2, Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, says, “The God of glory appeared to…Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia.” I don’t know about you…but that would have been pretty convincing.
Nobody in their right mind would walk away from the things Abraham walked away from. Financial security. Relatives. Immediate family. Friends. Comfort. For an unknown destination unless they were totally and completely convinced it was the right thing to do.
Abram had a life altering encounter with God and as a result…He stepped out in faith and obedience.
God said to Abram, “Go to the land that I will show you.”
Abraham could be Unafraid of an Unknown Future…because He had faith in the One who held his future and who promised to lead the way.
Example: How many know that when you are walking with the right person…it changes everything.
This past May, my son, Parker and I, went to Santa Ana, El Salvador. Our hosts were Kenton & Eunice Moody. I kid you not…these are some of God’s finest servants. While we were there…we would go to neighborhoods to visit people. These neighborhoods were run by gangs. So long as Kenton was with us…my heart was at ease. If Kenton hadn’t been there…I wouldn’t have been there either. Not a chance.
Knowing Kenton was with us…put our hearts at ease and we confidently walked into unknown / unfamiliar territory.
Abram was confident God had a good plan for his life. He was confident that God would lead the way. And Genesis 12:4 says, “So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed.”
Hebrews 11:8 - “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed God.”
When you leave the land of the familiar…you enter the world of faith.
When you stop into the world of faith…you may not know what lies ahead…but you know the One who has sent you.
And as He did with Abraham…God honors our faith and our obedience.
Faith In God and His goodness allows us to walk obediently and unafraid into an unknown future.
When life seems confusing…when the circumstances seem impossible…the the future is unknown…God is there. God is in control. He knows what is currently unknown to you. He sees the bigger picture. In His hands…He holds the entire plan. God can be trusted. And God can be known.
Genesis 12:7 tells us that when Abram arrived in Canaan, “The Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’”
In other words…, “WHOA! Put the brakes on Abe. You’ve arrived. This is the place.” God had been faithful to lead Abram into unknown…uncharted territory. And God would prove faithful to fulfill the promises He had given in the years that followed. God can be trusted.
Corrie Ten Boom (holocaust survivor) - “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
Sometimes we find ourselves in places / times where we have no other choice than to trust God. It’s in those times that our faith has the opportunity to deepen.
The God of Abraham is our God too. He can be trusted. And because He can…even though we don’t know what the future holds…we don’t have to enter it…fearing it.
Renowned ethicist and author, John Kavanaugh, tells of a time in his life when he went to Calcutta to work for three months at “The House of The Dying.” This experience was part of a heartfelt search for direction about his future. The first morning he was there, he met Mother Teresa. She asked him, “What can I do for you?” John Kavanaugh asked her to pray for him.
“What do you want me to pray for?” she asked. He responded by explaining that he had come thousands of miles from the U.S. to find direction. “Pray that I have clarity.”
She responded with a firm, “No…I will not do that.” When asked why…she said, “Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.” Kavanaugh commented that she always seemed to have the clarity he was longing to have. Mother Teresa laughed and said, “I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.”
In just a moment…I would like to pray that same prayer for you.
God has never promised any of us a detailed 10-year plan. Clarity can actually become spiritually counterproductive because it keeps you and I from trusting God and living each day depending on Him.
Trust is strongest when clarity is dimmest.
Do you feel as though you are in a fog today? Does the present moment feel shaky…making the future seem all the more unclear? Are you fearful of the future?
The truth is…we all lose sight of God’s faithfulness at times. And God has sent me here today to simply remind you…He can be trusted with your future…no matter what it is you may be facing.
Psalm 121:3, God says to you today, I, “will not let your foot slip…he who watches over you will not slumber.”
Isaiah 46:10 - God declares over your life today…I know the end from the beginning and what is still to come, “My purpose will stand…and I will do all that I please.”
Jeremiah 29:11 - God says to you, “I know the plans I have for you…they are plans to prosper you and not to harm you…plans to give you hope and a future.”
We don’t know all the details of what is going to happen in the future…or even in the next 5 minutes…But we have a God who can be known…we have a God who is faithful…His plans are to give us a hope and a future…and He can be trusted.
PRAYER
God can be known…He desires to be known. He wants to reveal Himself to you. If you don’t yet have a relationship with God…you can begin one today.
Proverbs 3:5,6 - “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
