Learning to Stand Still in the Midst of Uncertainty

​This world is a crazy, unpredictable place. I don’t think I’ve ever struggled with the fear of the unknown more than I have in the past few weeks. We are all going through a time when our natural reactions and even our solid spiritual responses to life are being turned around. 

In times of crisis, our thoughts naturally turn to our loved ones, but in a pandemic, we cannot visit them.

In times of loneliness and fear, we are guided by the Spirit to turn to the body of believers to bring us comfort and point us to truth, but we can’t even attend church services. 

In times of uncertainty, we fall back on our comfortable routines and schedules to keep our minds off of the hard questions, but right now many of us are left with little to occupy our time. ​​

​All of these things seem bad

It is good to spend time with loved ones. It is good to attend church and draw strength from communion with fellow believers. It is good to stay busy and be productive. When we can’t do any of those good things, isn’t that bad? ​

​These thoughts have been circling through my mind recently, but God has been sending messages of His own into my thoughts. Soft reassurances reminding me of truth. A book I am reading brought the Lord’s prayer to my attention. Those simple, familiar phrases suddenly seemed so heavy with truth.

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven….” Matthew 6:10

I think if I started every prayer that way, I’d remember more often that this whole world is about God’s will being done in earth and heaven. Maybe. Or else it would just become routine, and I’d need to be reminded some other way. That sounds more like me. ​

Everything that happens in this world, whether we see it as good or bad, is all about facilitating “Thy kingdom come.” ​

No, God doesn’t like bad things any more than He likes the sinfulness that causes them. He doesn’t delight in working His will through a pandemic that kills thousands of people. But He truly is working all things for our good and His coming kingdom. Even now. ​

What does that mean for us?

It means that God knows we’re lonely. He knows we’re missing our loved ones and that we’re bereft of communion in God’s house with His people. He knows we aren’t teaching Sunday School anymore or singing praises to Him at church right now. It’s all a part of His plan for His people right now. ​

And that means it’s a good thing. All of the discomfort is for our good right now, if we just let Him use it in our lives. ​

Here in the United States, we’re used to feeling secure. But with a worldwide pandemic washing up on our shores, attacking both strangers and loved ones, we are beginning to feel a whole new brand of anxiety and worry. Between the fear of the invisible virus getting to us or our loved ones and the unprecedented government restrictions, many of us feel like we’re stuck in a pandemic horror film set in Nazi Germany. 

God is allowing that fear in our lives

We have to understand that and grasp His hand tighter because He’s still leading us. He is testing our trust. Cling to Him harder, don’t pull away. 

In his booklet If If God Is Good Why Do We Hurt?, Randy Alcorn invites his readers to try rewriting the story of creation and the progression of history in a way that removes all of the evil and suffering we hate so much. He then asks the following question: “As you’ve rewritten the story, by not permitting human evil and suffering, how would God’s people celebrate forever the grace and kindness in Jesus that we would have never witnessed or experienced?” ​

Alcorn goes on to explain the beauty in the midst of the pain that fills this world we live in. ​​

“Every novelist and screenwriter knows that without conflict, there is no story. Without the terrible problem, there can be no wondrous solution. Without the high stakes of humanity’s alienation from God, there can be no redemption. 

Erasing the struggle and suffering from this story would mean less appreciation for peace because war had never broken out; less appreciation for food because famine had never occurred; less appreciation for righteousness because sin had never appeared; less love for life because death never happened; and less glory to God and heartfelt worship, because we’d never seen His grace, mercy, and patience. 

Which story is more satisfying—God’s or yours? Which story would you like to have taken place, and still be a beneficiary of, ten thousand years from now as you live on the New Earth?” —Randy Alcorn, If God Is Good Why Do We Hurt?

In our current world context, I would add to Alcorn’s list that if there were no sickness, we would have less appreciation for the health He gives us daily. If there were no uncertainty for the future, we would place less value on the absolute certainty we have in our eternal future. This fallen world is not our home. In the midst of a global pandemic, we can rejoice in the certain hope of a future home where we will never again face the fears and sufferings of this one. 

Here in the United States, we’re also used to being busy. During the week we work, clean, talk, shop, hang out, and repeat. On church days we serve, sing, listen, worship, and probably nap before starting our week again. But right now? Even those of us who are still driving to work have altered schedules that just aren’t as full of people, places, and opportunities as they once were. ​

That’s where God has us​​

So, let’s be there and dig into what He wants for us right now. His will for most of us right now is to learn how to stand still. 

This month, many of the ladies in my church are completing a Scripture writing challenge. We write out one “But God” passage a day for 31 days. There is a special kind of peace that washes over you when you slow down enough to write out truth-packed passages of Scripture word by word. If you’re interested in trying this Scripture challenge, check it out at Sweet Blessings. (There's even a Spanish version!)

Today, as I wrote out 2 Chronicles 20:14-17, I paused in the middle of writing out verse seventeen: ​

“Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD….”

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I know this verse was meant for a specific battle Israel was fighting against her enemies. But the words “stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord,” really stayed with me. Because that’s really what God is having many of us do right now. We know how to serve Him in church; we know how to worship Him with other believers singing beside us; we know how to be an example of God’s love to the people around us. But do we know how to stand still and watch God be God? 

I immediately thought of Psalm 46:10a. “Be still, and know that I am God.” I think that is a really good theme for this month. For any month, really. But especially right now. 

Today, as God’s will in the world and in your life has you stuck at home rethinking every life choice you’ve ever made, stop. Be still. And know that He is God. Take time to glory in Who God is. Stand still and watch Him do His thing. 

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If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil

Every one of us will experience suffering. Many of us are experiencing it now. As we have seen in recent years, evil is real in our world, present and close to each one of us.

In such difficult times, suffering and evil beg questions about God—Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? And then, how can there be a God if suffering and evil exist?

These are ancient questions, but also modern ones as well. Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and even former believers like Bart Ehrman answer the question simply: The existence of suffering and evil proves there is no God.

In this captivating new book, best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, realistic, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise.

Alcorn offers insights from his conversations with men and women whose lives have been torn apart by suffering, and yet whose faith in God burns brighter than ever. He reveals the big picture of who God is and what God is doing in the world, now and forever. And he equips you to share your faith more clearly and genuinely in this world of pain and fear.

As he did in his best-selling book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn delves deep into a profound subject, and through compelling stories, provocative questions and answers, and keen biblical understanding, he brings assurance and hope to all.

Download and read chapter one for FREE here!

​If God Is God – Study Guide

The reality of evil and suffering is not only our culture’s biggest objection to faith in God, but also a piercing thrust into the soul of every believer at some point in their lives.

Those facts compel us to prepare in order to handle the doubts and questions that roll over us like a storm tide whenever we confront the worst of pain, malice, and injustice. This study guide to Randy Alcorn’s If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil helps you gain perspective on suffering and God’s unfailing goodness.

Designed for both individual and group use, this guide is adaptable to whatever schedule and approach is most convenient for you—from a four-week overview, to an exploratory eight-week journey, to an intensive thirteen-week course.

Included throughout are a variety of questions for reflection and discussion, plus book excerpts that capture the highlights and best insights from If God Is Good. In addition, a group leader’s guide offers guidance for steering a group through any of the three approaches.

Let this book be your guide as you face up to a seriously perplexing issue and the countless questions it keeps generating.

90 Days of God’s Goodness

When life throws challenges at us, our view of God’s presence can become cloudy. If God is good, why is there so much evil and suffering? In times of hardship, it’s easy to lose sight of God’s purpose, goodness, and love. 

90 Days of God’s Goodness helps disperse the fog—little by little, discovery by discovery, day by day. Through these thoughtful, inspiring devotional readings, bestselling author Randy Alcorn brings clarity to the question of God’s goodness. 

For anyone who’s ever suffered, or shared in a loved one’s suffering. . . or for anyone who’s ever been painfully distressed by the prevalent evil in this world. . .

90 Days of God’s Goodness opens a wide door to healing and the reassurance of a God whose love we can count on and always turn to.

The Goodness of God

​For those times when we’re wounded by broken trust, assaulted by disease, or victimized by evil—or when we’re crushed to see such things happen to people we love—Randy Alcorn offers something solid to hold onto: God's love.

In this specially focused condensation of Alcorn’s If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil, we’re continually guided into a deeper glimpse of God’s loving ways and higher purposes—the very things we’re often most blinded to whenever we battle pain and anguish.

Alcorn avoids superficial or sentimental responses, and instead presses forward boldly to explore all the troubling doubts and questions that agitate within us when we confront suffering and evil. ​

The issues are far from simple, the answers far from easy—but Alcorn shows how the way of suffering—a path that Jesus Himself followed more than anyone else—can ultimately become a journey into wholeness and even logic-defying joy.

If God Is Good, Why Do We Hurt?

Out of the deepest hurts of the human condition, Randy Alcorn brings into clear focus our most pressing questions about evil and suffering—including those that wrench our souls when we or someone we love is victimized by evil or assaulted by disease.

He faces these questions with seasoned sensitivity, skillful insight, and a heart of compassion. He dodges none of the difficulties, and never lapses into platitudes, hand-wringing, or oversimplification.

​On this troubling but inescapable topic, you’ll find frank acknowledgment of the inherent limitations that set humanity apart from the God who has none. 

There’s also generous, real encouragement that brings God nearer in our understanding when we need His comfort the most. And amid our heavy doubts and swirling confusion on this topic, Randy  points us ultimately toward Jesus as “the only answer bigger than the questions.”

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How does God have you standing still today?