Jesus said: “Follow me” (John 1:43).

I’ve noticed something. People who are confident in Jesus, and who are confident about his ongoing provision and power in their lives, don’t tend to tremor as much at what the future might bring.

I’m not saying they never tremor. I’m saying they don’t tend to tremor as much.

The future can be daunting. There is uncertainty and risk. In an age when we can predict the weather, do everything but shower with our smart phones, and fly across the ocean in a day, not having control can be an increasingly alien and unsettling experience.

Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, told a story about a man on the edge of a cliff. There was a fire raging behind him so he couldn’t turn back. Below the cliff, way down in the darkness and out of sight was a voice yelling “Jump!”

The man on the edge of the cliff, now feeling warm from the encroaching fire, replied, “But, I can’t see you! There’s only darkness down there!” The voice down below responded, “Jump anyway. I can see you!”*

So it is with God.

[By the way, don’t actually jump off a cliff. This is a metaphor!]

As your certainty about Jesus increases so does your tolerance for uncertainty.

The point is this: The One calling your name from the darkness before you isn’t scared. 

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Notes:

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.

–*Tony Campolo, Let Me Tell You A Story: Life Lessons from Unexpected Places and Unlikely People (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000), 81.