“The past is a source of knowledge, and the future is a source of hope. Love of the past implies faith in the future.” – Stephen Ambrose
Dear Friends:
Hopefully you are beginning to understand that the Intolerance of Uncertainty is a sneaky, ineffective tool that has caused you harm in your own journey of life. That is important because without this understanding you would not be motivated to want to change how you think to get out of this pattern. On this post, we will begin the process of building a new pattern that counteracts IU!
Originally, when I was thinking through how I would change this pattern in my own life, I thought, “If the Intolerance of Uncertainty is the problem, then maybe I need to tolerate uncertainty”. This was less than satisfactory because tolerating anything doesn’t seem like freedom! Then it dawned on me that true freedom regarding uncertainty would be to Embrace Uncertainty!
That seemed to me to be too great of a leap after years of my own intolerance so I decided to create what I call building a foundation to support my ability to Embrace Uncertainty!
The first block of building the foundation is Recalling God’s Goodness:
I have been fascinated for years by what I call the “Israelite Heart”. In the Old Testament in the book of Exodus, the Israelites had been slaves to the Egyptians for 400 years. God led Moses to go before the Pharaoh to plead for the Israelites to be set free from their slavery. Pharaoh refused to do so and God sent one plague after another (i.e. blood, frogs, gnats, flies, death of livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and finally, the death of the Egyptian families’ firstborn sons) until Pharaoh finally set the Israelites free. After they had left, Pharaoh and his leaders changed their minds and pursued the Israelites to bring them back. Fleeing, the Israelites came to the Red Sea where God miraculously parted the Red Sea and the Israelites crossed over on dry ground! As they arrived on the other side, the Egyptians were in the middle of the sea and God quit holding the water back and the result was the drowning of the Egyptians and the safe passage of the Israelites from their captivity.
What a great story of God’s power, His deliverance, and His love for the Israelites! Surely, they would recall these things as they traveled forward in trust and hope in God for guidance and provision as they traveled on…..sadly, no. Whenever a new uncertainty came up, (i.e. where would they get water or food) their own Intolerance of Uncertainty resulted in them grumbling and complaining, and assuming the worst of God and His plan. Psalm 78 is a retelling of this same story and in verses 21 and 22 it states that after the Israelites kept doubting God that “he was very angry…..for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance”. I think it would be heart breaking to love someone so much, do so much for them, and yet be accused of not caring!
I have done the very same thing in my own life as I have encountered new uncertainties. I had been frustrated with all the grumbling of the Israelites in this story until I began to realize that I too had an “Israelite Heart”! Psalm 77:9-11 says, “Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?…..I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember you miracles of long ago.” I read this during a trying time in my life and challenged myself that instead of worrying and being anxious about what was going to happen, why not concentrate on all that God had done in my life? Note that it wasn’t like difficulty or heartache hadn’t taken place, but I chose instead of focusing on these things to focus on what had gone well. This did not make the uncertain certain but I did find hope welling up in my heart.
A small, recent example in which I have practiced this was in recently letting my office space go. I had been renting the space since 2012 and it was ideal for my practice. This year (2020) I have been doing tele-health since mid-March and paid rent for months though not using the office. I knew I needed to let it go but I could tell that I was worried and anxious about what I would do when I was able to meet with clients face-to-face again. Then I remembered that when I was looking for office space in 2012, I was blessed with finding the space I was now letting go. I chose to believe that since God had provided before, I could rest in knowing He would provide again. In that, I was able to let go of worry and anxiety and walk in hope for the future!
Since this discovery of learning to focus on Recalling God’s Goodness, I have experienced much more peace in focusing on how many times He has moved on my behalf and brought blessing. I have experienced an increase of closeness with God and so much less worry! I have more hope!
What are things from the past that God has done for me (maybe things I hadn’t even attributed to God) that I can be focusing on and thanking God for now?
I am excited for you as you begin this practice to see how hope grows within you! Blessings to you on your journey toward freedom!
Shari