Life is full of uncertainties that brings us feelings of anxiety and worries. We call it the fear of uncertainty. It is the fear of what might happen in the future. It is one of the greatest emotional and social issues in our society. Research says, "40 million American adults suffer from an anxiety disorder"
There is psychological reason why over 40 million people suffer from fear of uncertainty.
First one is lack of information. Anxiety can increase if you don't have enough information to make accurate predictions about the future. For example, many people worry about financial security when the international political and economic situation is unstable. Research also says, More than 60% of people worry a lot about their health when they are not feeling well and the serious illness of their loved ones. Because no one knows exactly what your future health will be.
I knew a man who had strong faith of rapture. He always said, Jesus will take me up, and I will see Jesus. So, one day, I asked him, "Then you won't be afraid of death? He answered me I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid of the process of dying. Because when the time comes, I don't know what to do or how it will be. Lack of information and circumstances beyond our control can cause us to fear uncertainty.
In today passages, God was comparing the lives of two people whom God loved. The first one was Abraham and the other one is Moses.
Abraham lived by faith
The essence of Abraham's faith is that he lived by faith, but not by sight. In other words, God gave Abraham a promise, but did not show the process and detailed information about how the promise will be fulfilled.
When Abraham was 75 years old, God promised Abraham He would give him a son, and promised to make a great nation out of his seed. But God did not give him detailed information about when or how would happen. He was waiting and waiting to have son. When Abraham was 100 years old, Isaac was born. When Abraham was 160 years old, Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. When Esau and Isaac were 10 years old, Abraham died. Abraham received the promise of the great nation, but he did not experience the fulfillment of the promise. So, he lived by faith in the promise, not with detailed information. It gave Abraham a lot of when and how questions.
Moses lived by sight
Moses’ life was very opposite to Abraham. Abraham did not live by sight but by faith, but Moses lived by sight, which means he lived by what he saw and asked God what to do and God told him to do. Moses talked with God face to face, and God told him the exact time and schedule for him to do. Whatever God told Moses to move, Moses moved. He stayed when God said to stay. Whenever Moses did anything, he did it under God's direction and guidance so he lived without fear of the unknown.
Numbers 12: 6-7 “When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; With him, I speak face to face, clearly.
The life of Abraham is an excellent example of faith in the Christian life. He received God's promise but lived a life without seeing the fulfillment of that promise. It made him experience moments of fear of uncertainty. However, Moses' life was different. He lived a life completely free from fear of uncertainty because he was fully directed and guided by God in the moment of need.
Written word of God
Let's talk about the most important biblical factor that made the lives of these two men different.
The first and most important difference is that while Moses received the written Word of God, Abraham did not have it. Before Moses, no one had the written word of God, so even Abraham could receive God's promises verbally, but not by the written document. Imagine if you paid for a house when you bought it and you still haven't received the legal papers yet, you would be anxious about that process. That was what Abraham felt when he was waiting.
However, for Moses, whenever there was a situation, he went to the tabernacle, the place of God’s presence, and asked for direct guidance, direction. God immediately responded to him and solved the problem. After that, Moses recorded God's response to him. What Moses wrote became the Bible, the one we have now. The Bible is the book of God's answers for all people for all kinds of questions. Anyone who wants to hear God's answers should read the Bible. Because the Word of God is the answer of all our prayers.
Living Example
Life is full of unpredictability. If something unexpected happens to you or your family, or when anxiety and worry take over your life, you seek out advice and direction. Who is your most trusted person to provide the right answer to your questions? Remember that God is the answer to all your problems, and He answers all our questions through His Word.
I have Korean pastor friend. He was my mentor to advise me to go theological school. In 2008, he had an acute infection in his liver. Unfortunately, when he got hospitalized, his condition got worse and hhe went into a coma. At that time, he had a wife and a 5-year-old son, Isaac. As he fell into a coma, doctors told his wife, “A quick liver transplant was the only hope that could save him, but there was no guarantee he would get it.”
While his wife put their son Isaac on her back and walked back to her house, she prayed to God to save her husband. When she was praying in silence, her son Isaac just said to her “mom, Psalm chapter 119 and verse 11.” So she asked Isaac, “Who taught you that and what does the bible say in Psalm?” Isaac said he couldn’t remember but my Sunday school teacher told me the Psalm chapter 119 and verse 11 last Sunday. Now I just want to say that for you “mom”.
When she got back to her house with their son Isaac, she opened the Bible and looked Psalm chapter 119 and verse 11 and she read it. At that moment, suddenly, words of God were seen to her eyes from the very next page. Psalm 118:18, “The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death”. After that, she believed confidently that God would not take her husband’s life in this time. After couple of weeks, her husband had a successful liver transplant surgery and came back to their house and also his ministry.
It is an example and evidence that God has an answer to all of our prayers through the Bible.
Conclusion
2 Peter 1:5-8 “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The apostle Peter made it clear that having the Christian faith is the beginning of a journey in which we make every effort to continually add to goodness and knowledge. In theological terms, a justified Christian who has been born again through faith in Jesus Christ must go through the process of sanctification. In other words, our spirit must grow in the Word and mature in the knowledge of knowing God.
Carleton United Methodist Church will do every effort to help you to have faith in Jesus Christ and to be a mature Christian to make your face radiant like Moses.
02.05.2023 Pastor Cloud Poy
@ Photo on Unsplash
