“The people complained against God and Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food’ - Numbers 21:4-5
Our pilgrimage home to God and to our true selves takes us through the land of uncertainty. Old answers become inadequate before life’s present challenges. Even though past ways of looking at ourselves and relating to others are less than freeing, we prefer their familiarity more than present uncertainties. The certainty they offer is safer than facing our fear of abandonment or fear of the unknown. We are caught between the shackled familiarity of the past and the promised freedom of a greater future. We do not like living with the tension, with uncertainty. We are reluctant to trust further.
Between a certain past and a future not yet known lies the present moment. Before we can move forward, we need to acknowledge our dependence on certainty and our fear of trust. In such vulnerability, we gradually discover the birth of hope within – a confidence rooted and grounded in God’s goodness and care. We find ourselves thirsting for water that gives fuller life and love. We are invited to walk in our present condition, with its unknowns and pregnant possibilities – to live the present questions in order that deeper questions may arise and welcome greater trust.
"Lord, help me to be vulnerable, to trust you, and understand the present uncertainties in my life."
inspired by Henri Nouwen
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