Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“‘The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. As for you, seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.’ So I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days; then I arose and went about the king’s business. But I was dismayed by the vision and did not understand it.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, August 26, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Sometimes we just have to live with uncertainty. Daniel has had a deeply troubling vision—so troubling it has left him physically sick. But he is told by a heavenly being basically, “Eh, this isn’t going to happen for a while. Go about your life, dude.” No wonder Daniel was stressed out. I think it can be better just not to know.
But sometimes it’s unavoidable. We get information that’s important, necessary, even if it’s unpleasant and we just have to go about our lives. Three years ago, doctors discovered that my breast tissue is abnormal. Scary words like “carcinoma in situ” or “cancer that just hasn’t bothered to move yet.” I went on tamoxifen as a preventative. I have imaging twice a year (an MRI and a mammogram). These things will mitigate my risk significantly but the fact remains that the cancer that runs in my family (an aunt, my sister) could at any time decide “Oh, hey, let’s start running amok up in here.” Yet some metaphorical holy being basically says to me, “No way to know if or when. So go about your life.” And I listen. Honestly, I don’t think much about it. There’s literally nothing I can do that I’m not already doing. I could spend my time obsessing about it or I can trust my medical providers, turn outcomes over to God, and get on with things.
This isn’t the only uncertainty in my life, but I won’t bore you. The point is that each of us faces uncertainty—even if it’s just the fact that at any point we might have our lives cut tragically short. We can’t dwell on it. There’s too much beauty in God’s creation, too much love to be had and to be shared. We can trust that God’s got whatever it is, and enjoy what is to be enjoyed.
How do I manage uncertainty? How can I turn things over to God?
