I’ve had a week filled with questions about a lot of things. Things concerning the future and things about what happened in the past. At some point though, we just have to start moving forward as best we can without a plan. Making that happen when surrounded by paralyzing doubt is easier said than done – even when we’d really like it to happen.
I’m not new to uncertainty. I embrace it so well on a philosophical level sometimes that my peers fear I am overly dark or pessimistic. I’m not a negative person; I’ve just accepted a reality where God has allowed free will, which creates a degree of openness and chaos from which we don’t always benefit.
But the feeling of not knowing how to move forward, or which direction would cause the least amount of potential damage has been like holding my breath for months. I’ve felt surrounded by doubt, fear, failure, loss, and grief. Struggle as I might, I’ve been unable to swim to the surface.
Sunday at church, I read a hymn that gave me another alternative. In addition to the doubts and fears, I can also have “Christ be with Me.”
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.[1]
If I believe Christ-following means taking up my cross (which I do) then I can anticipate that loss and grief will be reflected in my Way. I am following in the steps, after all, of Christ before me on his cross. But I can also know that comfort and restoration surround me as well – in both quiet and danger.
This week I am listening for his voice in the “mouth of friend and stranger,” searching for the strength and hope to move forward. Still surrounded, on all sides.
[1] Hymnal: A Worship Book (Elgin, Ill.: Brethren u.a., 1992), 442.
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