Buckle up

uncertain times

4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. 5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

1. When the fasten seatbelt sign comes on, it means one of three things: You are taking off, landing, or experiencing turbulence. All three are critical times during a flight. Why? Because all three are transitions. In the case of taking off, we know what to expect. Landing, we know what to expect.

2. But in mid-flight, when the fasten seatbelt sign comes on, you just don’t know. The people I know who don’t like to fly have a turbulence story to tell.

3. And when the captain turns it off . . . whew.

4. Since March, for us as a nation, the captain has turned on the fasten seatbelt sign. Trouble ahead. It could be a short, small bump. Or it may be time to pull out the little bag in the seatback in front of you.

6. It could be that the fasten seatbelt sign has come on for you personally: your daughter is pregnant; the doctor called; your job is at risk; your marriage is at risk.

7. Whatever the case . . . as is the situation in a jet . . . we are out of control. Actually, we have never really been in control. But it sure is fun to think we are. And when the reality of the situation is staring us in the face personally and nationally, it is frightening.

The good news is . . .

I. Most of what we are given in the Scriptures was written in an environment of uncertainty.

A. This book is not filled with feel-good messages for a world we don’t live in. Here we find God speaking directly into uncertain times. Maybe more comforting, we see God’s hand in the midst of uncertainty.

1. Joseph found himself in a pit while his brothers debated whether to sell him or kill him . . . and we discover that God was with him.

2. King David was awakened one morning to the news that his own son was conspiring against him, but he had no proof —many of the Psalms reflect the uncertainty of those days.

4. One afternoon an angel appeared to a teenager and announced that she . . . the Bible says Mary was perplexed. What did this mean? The future was completely different.

B. This book is filled with stories of people facing uncertainty and discovering that not only is God not absent, but he is often diligently at work accomplishing his will in this world and in the lives of those he loves.

C. This is a book about how very much God is in control and how very much we are not.

1. And that is exactly why we will not like some of the answers we find here when it comes to responding to uncertainty.

2. I want the answer to be that if I will do three things, life will be back to normal, and I will be back in control.

3. What we find in Scripture seems much too passive. It leaves us too vulnerable and dependent.

4. I don’t want to fasten my seatbelt. I want the turbulence to go away.

5. I don’t want to be guided through it. I want to be led around it.

6. I want to find something in here that will guarantee my safety, Where are those verses?

D. As frustrating as some of the answers might be, the options are worse.

1. Worry? Panic? Overreact? Fear?

2. I’ve never known any of those things to be productive.

3. They generally make things worse:

• Relationally–nobody gets our undivided attention. We get very self-centered.

• Financially–we make decisions based on our ability to predict the future. We shop to kill the pain.

So don’t underestimate what God says about times of uncertainty. This is not new to him. This is not an instruction manual about how to get back into control or how to get life back to normal. It is about learning to follow through the valleys with confidence that God is in control and that his purposes personally and nationally will not be thwarted.

So what do we do? We are going to talk about four terms—four things to do. And the first one is probably the most predictable: PRAY.

[Turn to Philippians 4:4.]

II. Paul, from prison, instructs us to pray in times of uncertainty.

A. After being shipwrecked in Malta, Paul arrives in Rome during the reign of Nero. Not a good time for a Christian to be in Rome. He is writing to a church 700 miles away —four months travel.

B. "Rejoice . . . the Lord is near."

1. In the midst of uncertainty, don’t be sucked into the same sense of gloom and doom as everyone else. You know who is in control.

2. God hasn’t gone anywhere.

3. Don’t let uncertainty impact your character. Be gracious and gentle.

4. Don’t lose your influence.

C. "Be anxious for nothing."

1. This is where I need to step aside and let the Scriptures speak.

Yes, you can look at me and say, "What does the preacher know?" I’m just quoting a prisoner who knows what happens to Christians under Nero. He is staring down the barrels of extermination along with his cause. Because if Nero has his way, there will be no church.

2. ANXIOUS: Be troubled by or distracted by cares or fear. The context is always concern about the future.

a. What are we supposed to do? But, strong contrast . . .

D. "But in everything . . . let your requests be made known to God."

1. Objection: "I already did that." But I’m still anxious and stressed out. Besides, nothing happens; nothing changes."

2. Paul is not talking about a little, "Lord you know my needs . . ."

He’s not talking about emergency prayers in the car.

He is not talking about the 30-second kind of prayer.

Look how he describes the process:

3. The Prayer

• By prayer, by supplication (repeated for emphasis and intensity)

• With thanksgiving—trust.

4. "Present your requests to God."

("Let your requests be made known . . .")

Literally: reveal the mystery of your requests, something that unfolds that was not previously known. The idea is not to inform God . . . but to discover what it is you are really after and verbalize that to God. Learn and unearth what it is you fear and what it is you desire . . . and tell it. The focus here is on revealing what’s on the inside of us. Pour out what is in you to God.

5. Uncertainty elicits fear.

• Fear, if explored, can reveal our deepest desires . . . what we really want.

• When we are able to discover and give to God those deep, otherwise unknown desires, something happens.

6. Illustration: Lord, I need a job . . . "What are you afraid of?" Nothing. "What if you don’t get a job?" I’m afraid that . . .

• I’m afraid for my family.

• I’m afraid for my reputation.

• He hears God whisper, "I can handle that."

7. In your prayers of uncertainty, pray this, "Lord, I need you to . . .

"If you don’t, I’m afraid . . ."

This is about placing into God’s hands what only God’s hands are capable of handling.

E. The result—"Peace . . ." Literally: "which surpasses every thought of man."

1. It transcends human understanding in that it makes no sense to have peace when nothing has changed.

• Peace that precedes change

• Peace grounded in the fact that God is in control

2. Peace stands guard/protects your heart and mind, your emotions and thoughts.

• When the circumstances/pressures grab your attention, there is peace. You aren’t all knotted up on the inside.

• When things take you by surprise, there is peace.

*It is an inside thing that sets us apart on the outside*

III. Prayer isn’t about just changing things. Prayer is about being changed.

A. Changed to trust the Father with the things only he can control.

B. Changed so that we are free from decisions that will only complicate our lives.

C. Changed because we have placed into God’s hands what only God’s hands are capable of handling.

Conclusion

1. I didn’t learn this from the Bible. I learned this from my dad. Some of my earliest memories are of my dad praying in the blockhouse in Miami. I learned it from a friend whose daughter almost died in an accident. I learned it from a man who died of cancer whose wife and he maintained peace.

2. Early on, I found a place to pray, and I stayed until the peace came.

Stayed until I had sufficiently handed off what God intended to carry anyway.

3. When the fasten seatbelt sign comes on, PRAY. And though you go to that quiet place in hopes that the world will change, what you will find is that you will change.

4. It is there in the lonely place that you will gain the perspective and peace you need to handle the uncertainty of life. I would like to jump- start the process for some of you.

[Andy prays]

"What is your greatest concern right now? What are you afraid will happen?

Say this, ’Lord, if _____ happens, I’m afraid__________.’

There in your fear is the request you must make known to and hand off to God."