Risk, Uncertainty and the Will of God

 How do we face uncertainty?  I want to do the will of God.  I want to try new things.  But, is now the right time?  Will my venture meet with success or failure?  Should I wait until I am sure?  Anxiety over God's will stems from this uncertainty.  These are the kinds of questions Qoheleth wants to address.

Ecclesiastes 10:8-11 describes the uncertainty in our daily affairs.  Sometimes the uncertainty stems from our own actions, sometimes its unavoidable.  We fall into a pit we have just dug.  We work in danger when we work with wood or stone.  If we try to charm a snake, well, you get the picture.  How do we keep this uncertainty from paralyzing us?

Solomon would remind us that while uncertainty exists from our point of view, all things are certain to God.  Where clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth (11:3).  Where a tree falls, there it lies.  Who knows how the spirit joins the body of a baby in conception?  There is so much we don't know. It is a comfort then that God orchestrates all things and will dispose the day.  Why doesn't He tell us what He's doing?

There is gravity in the uncertainty of our world.  We don't know what disaster will fall upon the earth (11:2).  We don't know what will prosper, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well (11:6).  This uncertainty can breed sloth:  He who observes the wind will never sow and he who regards the clouds will never reap (11:4).  Proverbs makes this point as well:  The sloth excuses his inactivity by fearing "There is a lion in the streets- I will be slain in the public square."  I suppose there is a lion outside his door somewhere, but what are the chances it's anywhere near?

If uncertainty is built into life, then faith in God is essential.  Watch how faith works in the face of uncertainty:

    "So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there were there with great, fortified cities.  It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord has said."  (Caleb, Joshua 14:12)

    "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.  Be of good courage and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God and may the Lord do what seems good to him."  (Joab, II Samuel 10:11-12) 

     "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."  (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Daniel 3:16-18)

     "Go gather all the Jews in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day.  I and my young women will fast as you do.  Then, I will go into the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish." (Esther, Esther 4:16)

     "Some of you they will put to death.  You will be hated by all for my name's sake.  But not a hair of your head will perish."  (Jesus to His disciples, Luke 21:16-18)

     "Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring... Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."  (James 4:13-16)

Some Bible expositor might say:  "To move from your place without a sure word from God is reckless presumption."  Solomon would respond by saying that risk and faith are related.  If uncertainty is built in, then faith in God is essential.  Good and bad happen together.  Light and darkness are a part of life.  The proper response is to rejoice in all our years, remembering that the many days of darkness are unavoidable.

Solomon shares three pieces of advice for managing uncertainty and the element of risk.  First, cast your bread upon the waters:  Invest your life wisely even when there is no promise of immediate reward (11:1).  Second, give a portion to seven or eight- diversify (11:2). Finally, be diligent:  The merism "morning and evening" means to consistently invest your life- not everything will succeed, but not everything will fail.  Keep working.

Man was made to take dominion over God's creation, to care for the garden and to bring more order and beauty to God's world.  Solomon wants us to get after the goals we have set:  Follow your heart, but know for all this God will bring you into judgment.  If your plans are good and true, pray about them and then step out.  We are called to be faithful.  Success comes from God.  Don't let uncertainty stand in your way.  Risk in order to take dominion, to advance the kingdom of God, is good.  Perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.

COVID 19, the Hornet, and the Call to Risk

                At the midweek service of our church, I began the night by asking our members about how the coronavirus was affecting them.  I was excited to see how buoyant their spirits were.  No one expressed worry over their 401k accounts or their health.  No one really got engaged until we began to talk about the call of Christians to protect the vulnerable.  As I listed some of the ones in our community who might be at risk,  I began to get volunteers. Members wanted to run errands for these shut-ins, to help wherever we could.   We were displaying the heart of Christ.  This pandemic might well make us stronger as believers.

               There are those who will lament the loss of control.  They will be anxious about the unknown and about man’s inability to answer the illness immediately.  It turns out that most of our lives are out of our control, but we know the one who cares for us and brings peace in the midst of a storm.

               There are also those who will be anxious about the economic fallout and the loss of future economic security.  But, we know that it is God who gives us the power to get wealth, and that David observes that he has never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging bread.

               This will also be a good corrective for those who have a desperate dependence on government.  Their first thought is to blame one political party or another for lack of leadership, lack of funding, lack of compassion.  When the other party is in power, everything will be ok.  The problem, of course, is not the political party in power.  The problem is that government itself is not omnipotent.  They cannot provide instant security, protection, and answers to all issues.  Only God can anchor our souls like that.

               Some will put too much confidence in government.  Others will put too much confidence in science.  Science has given us amazing advances in healthcare but, like government, they are not omnipotent.  Where we put our trust in the midst of a storm displays our God.

               Fear has a way of making us desperate.  It can feed our hypochondria, our paranoia.  What if this is not a time for binge-watching the news and wringing our hands or retreating into our shells until the danger has passed.  What if this is a time to lean in, to meet others at their point of need?  What if our fear can be replaced by a God-centered confidence.

               Every community has those who are vulnerable to illnesses like COVID 19:  The elderly, the cancer patient, the patient recovering from surgery or one with a persistent infection, the newborn and the mother.  Immune responses are low and that vulnerable member of our community can be filled with fear.  Christians, by their presence, can help to allay that fear.  We are called to risk in order to display the compassion of Christ.  May God awaken his army to move against the fear with the love of Christ.