Ask anyone what superpower they would like to have, and after they mention flight, x-ray vision, and super strength, someone will invariably bring up the ability to tell the future.
There’s something very attractive about knowing what’s next. The sense of control, the confidence that you can’t be surprised. It’s understandable that we crave being able to predict what will happen to us. The opposite, of course, is how we are used to living – in a state of uncertainty.
Didn’t someone say only two things are certain – death and taxes?
I could add a third, although it’s not a very welcome addition – the certainty of struggle.
Here’s the thing. We crave certainty and predictability in our lives. It’s best to know what’s coming up so we can prepare. But there is a 100% chance that we will endure struggle and problems in our lives. That’s not something I look forward to.
But it is predictable.
It’s not an unknown. There’s many forms of struggle, but none that are not common to everyone. So my approach to life needs to shift a bit. Instead of working to try to predict what is on my way, I should prepare for the tough times and be ready when they arrive.
There’s a verse that says “When you walk through the fire, I will be with you.”
What strikes me about that verse is not the fire-walking that I’m apparently going to be enduring. Nor is it the comforting fact that I won’t be alone.
It’s the ‘when’.
There’s an absolute there. I know ‘when’ is coming, and it’s not up for debate.
So how does one prepare to walk through fire? I don’t think I have a flame-retardant suit on hand. Rather, I think the most important point is not what I walk through, but that I will walk through.
There’s an end to the fire. It doesn’t stretch out forever. There is a definite beginning, and there also is a definite end. So my preparation is a mental and emotional one. It’s the practice of perseverance – of going through.
I need, more than anything, to remember that whenever “when” arrives, I still win.
That’s the best way to make sure I’m prepared for the next big struggle. I don’t need a crystal ball, nor a heavenly weather prognosticator marking the day and hour that a storm will hit my life.
I just need a good memory, and a little faith.
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