The unknown is scary. You’re living, going about your life, but you don’t necessarily know where you are going. The days aren’t bringing you any closer to some sort of goal because you don’t know what that goal is. You dread the future because you don’t know what life you will be living and who will be in that life with you. You’re not sure whom to turn to because although people can help you discover your passions, they can’t make life decisions for you.
During high school you didn’t worry about the unknown aspects of your future. You were comfortably living with your parents and only had to look forward to the fun of Friday night football games. But then college comes and you have to start making decisions. And although you make up some sort of planned course for your academics, you are still surrounded with the presence of the unknown. Where am I going by taking these classes? What will I be doing with this after college? Am I going in the direction that I should be going?
The unknown currently surrounds me. Yes, I have a planned schedule for classes and a major and minor that I desire to achieve, but I have no idea what life after college has for me. For a planner like me, that is scary. I entered college with a plan because I couldn’t handle the thought of coming in without a declared major. But even with a declared major and minor I worry. I can’t see what the future looks like for me and that is simply terrifying. My classes, even my days in general, seem pointless because I don’t know what I am working towards. And when your days feel pointless it’s really hard to find hope. But right when you are feeling useless, hopeless, defenseless, that is right where God meets you.
In the middle of this past semester, God brought a simple sentence into my life to remind me that everything is going to be ok—that everything, in fact, is ok right now, even in the unknown and uncertainty. I don’t remember the entire sermon that Sunday, but I do remember that one important line my pastor spoke:
Never underestimate where God has you in life.
The sentence struck me, so I wrote it down, but very soon dismissed it. Later that day it kept coming back to me so I decided to write it on my whiteboard in my dorm room where I could see it everyday. As I looked at it everyday, I was slowly reminded of the character of God. He has got everything in control and knows exactly what my future looks like. Even more than that, He is working every second of the day. So whereas, my days, my classes, my relationships sometimes feel useless, God is working and putting together situations to work through me all the while piecing together my future. I am in an uncertain time of life right now, but I should in no way underestimate where God has me. This is where He wants me right now and it’s all part of His plan.
God is power and His ways of working are extraordinary. He is capable of so much more than we comprehend and underestimating Him is a deflection of His character. Rest in peace knowing that when you feel life is at a standstill and you’re not sure where you are supposed to go or what to do, God is working and continuously unfolding the plan He has for you.
