“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

To live with uncertainties is to deal in things that are not defined or things that are just unknown. Yet, uncertainties aren’t always to be considered bad. Having every aspect of life concretely defined for you would lead to a terribly dissatisfying life. Nonetheless, dealing with the unknown or needing to rely on things that are outside of our control can be stressful. In fact, I would argue that the majority of stress in a day is due to an uncertain future. Fear tends to grow, as our minds fill in the blanks between what we know and what we cannot predict. That space of uncertainty is not only where fear overrides common sense, but is also the playground of Satan himself. Satan uses the unknown, not as something to work towards and look forward to, but as a net to constrain us and keep us from making progress.

The Israelites suffered from this very same weakness prior to taking the land God had promised them. They looked at the massive walls and armies, they sent spies and gathered as much information to combat their own uncertainty. But each new data point gathered on the land pushed them deeper into fear. They lacked the faith to stand up to the foreigner’s occupying their promised land. And allowed Satan to roam freely in their heads confusing them into forgetting all that God had done for them thus far. To this, we have Joshua 1:9, where Israel needed the reminder that there are no uncertainties when it comes to God’s promises. We can find strength and courage in God’s word because it is true. We need not fear or be discouraged because we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. So today remember this, we may face uncertain times, but we will never face them alone. “For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”