Grace in the Unknown
Ever have one those “seasons” that could be best summed up by one big question mark?
For me, that was the year I graduated college. (I know - shocker.)
Most seniors and post-grads can agree that it's pretty exciting to end a chapter and start a new one. The excitement of graduating from 4 years of long lectures, all-nighters, group projects, and final exams almost made people (like me) forget that we didn’t know what the heck we were doing afterward. But while the graduation countdowns brought us one day closer to freedom, it also brought the harsh reality that we were also one day closer to needing to have our crap (or at least part of it) together.
There were so many things up in the air - with job prospects, living situations, relationships, etc. And a couple months into graduating, I remember being frustrated out of my mind over dead ends and unknowns. During that time, I got an email from a family friend that encouraged me and changed my perspective.
I got her permission to share it with you:
“I really started to whine to God that I was done with transitions. I had studied every possible person in the Bible that had gone through transition, from Abraham, Joseph, David, Paul, etc.
While listening to a message, there was a word that my heart just attached to. “RECALCULATING.”
What comes to your mind when you read that? Is it mathematical? Or is it directional - like your car talking to you, saying “recalculating”? Well according to Webster’s, it is both! It is to determine - or in this case - redetermine by mathematical processes. And also, it is to design - or in this case - redesign or readapt for a purpose.
Here is what God has shown me so far:
1) God is the ultimate Google Maps.
Seriously for your life and my life, He controls our destination. I don’t know about you, but the moment I feel like I’m finally about to find my way and set life in cruise control, I hear Him say, “Recalculating!"
Or how about when we try to “see” the destination in our own eyes? And He tells us, “Trust me. Follow Me. Even though the road is not built yet, I will have it built by the time My calculations get you there.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
And of course, the moment I try to get ahead of Him, sure enough the “road” abruptly ends, and I end up in a pit, bruised and hurt.
Or how about the road that takes us through the “valley of the shadow of death”?
The one where He tells us, “Do not fear, for I am with you.” (Isaiah 41:10)
2) God ultimately cares more about our heart than the destination.
And yes, you can probably find this statement on Instagram or somewhere in a cute meme, but it is solid TRUTH. God knows what “formulas” He has used to form your heart, and He knows what “formulas” He needs to add, to subtract (that’s where that fun word “refine” comes in), etc.
In all my frustrations last year, even while feeling directionless and purposeless while going through another transition, over and over again God showed me that He knows my heart. He knows what it can handle, what it needs to flourish, and what I need. Period.
Our church put out this statement, and yes it is one of those cliches: “Until God is all you have, you won’t realize that He is all you need.” And God will keep recalculating our hearts until we get to this place.
3) And lastly, as I have gone through so many recalculations, I have found that in the midst of the trusting, the midst of the reformulating, the midst of “So now what’s”, I have learned of a zone.
It reminds me of the Find iPhone app. Sometimes, when using that app, it doesn’t show the exact spot where it is at. For some reason, it shows a green zone area of where it could be at.
As you go into a “recalculation”, ask God to keep you in the “grace zone”.
It’s that green zone (and I love that it is green - Green as in “go”! Green as in flourishing!).
It is where you and I can say:
- I am walking by grace in His purpose and direction.
- I am beloved by God and am known intimately by God.
- I am recognizing by whose power and authority I am doing this, because the only way I can do anything in my weakness is because of His grace.
When I am walking in this grace zone, I am being attractive and effective for His kingdom and for the Beloved, Himself.
And that is all that matters."
---
Although I’m not currently in a super confusing “season," there are still a bunch of unknowns in my life (and I honestly don’t think there will ever be a point in life where there won’t be).
Whenever my mom drives, she has to have me pull up the entire list of directions so that she’s always prepared for what’s ahead.
Unfortunately, we can’t do that with life. We can try to plan and prepare, but some things are just out of our control.
And even in the things that are in our control, there are STILL going to be unknowns.
You know how Google Maps sometimes gives you 3 different options with similar ETA’s? Since God gives us free will, we ultimately get to decide what our next move looks like or who we decide to be with or which career path we want to take. God doesn’t just light up one clear blue path showing us what to do and where to go and what to expect all the time.
But through every delay, every dead end, every recalculation, and every unknown in your life, I encourage you to take steps of faith into the green zone of grace - into the places where you might not always see Him and you may not always know EXACTLY where you have to go.
I’ve come to find that it’s in the points of uncertainty where our faith and God’s grace collide.
Choose to keep trusting Him, to keep giving Him your “yes", and to keep moving forward in faith.
“So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.”
(2 Corinthians 4:16 MSG)