Faith and certainty

In the book Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning, the author writes of an encounter between John Kavanaugh, a Jesuit professor of philosophy, and Mother Teresa. 

While working with her in Calcutta, he asks Mother Teresa to pray for him. Mother Teresa replies, "what do you want me to pray for?" And he says, "Pray that I have clarity".

Mother Teresa responds, "Nope. I won't do that." So Kavanaugh of course asks why.

And Mother Teresa explains, "Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of."

Kavanaugh says, "But you seem to have lots of clarity!"

And Mother Teresa laughs and says, "I've never had clarity. What I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God."

Put another way, perhaps what Mother Teresa was saying was, certainty is your last idol. Stop chasing certainty and trust God.

How does this match up with what the Bible says about faith and certainty?

James 1:6-8 teaches that "When you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."

Doesn't that sound like we must be clear and certain? Well, when James says we must believe and not doubt, what is it that he's saying we must believe in? The preceding verse 5 provides the context. 

"If any of you lacks wisdom you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."

James isn't saying, we must be sure about what the next step is. He's saying, when we ask for wisdom from God, we must be sure that He will answer. How would we behave if we truly believed that God would answer our prayer for wisdom?

We wouldn't ask as a formality, having already made up our mind.

We wouldn't hear Him respond, and then tell Him, thanks for the input, I'll think about it.

And, importantly, we would be fine if He doesn't tell us the exact path or even the final goal. Because we would have certainty that when He says, just do this next thing, I'll take care of the rest, that's all the wisdom we'd need for now.

Our certainty is not centred on the route or destination. Our certainty is in our Guide.

Hebrews 11:1 explains that "Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see". 

Among other examples, the book of Hebrews points out Noah, who, having been warned about things not yet seen, built an ark to save his family (Heb 11:7). Noah had never even seen rain before. He had absolutely no clarity or certainty about what was going to happen. But he did have clarity and certainty about Who he was going to obey regardless.

Abraham was called to go, "even though he did not know where he was going" (Heb 11:8). He had no clarity or certainty about where he was to go, nor the route he was to take. But he had clarity and certainty about Who had commanded him to go.

So as Hebrews 11:1 writes, faith does indeed have confidence. But confidence in the Who, and not the How, What and Where.

So what does that mean for us practically?

It means that when God calls us to move, we don't ask for 10 more confirmatory signs before we move. We don't wait till we feel we're adequately skilled, resourced and free. God doesn't need us to be certain that we can do what He's asked. It's much better that we exercise faith and trust Him.

It means that when God calls us to move, we don't worry about how we're going to do it, and we don't obsess about where it will eventually lead us. Planning is important. But God wants us to follow Him more than He wants us to follow a plan. So make a plan. And then move. And listen for Him along the way. When He says change, we change. Don't let the plan become our idol. Don't let certainty become our idol.

Sometimes we worry that if we are one degree off-track, we will eventually end up 500 miles off our target. 

Well yes, that's true. If we don't check our compass along the way, and blindly keep going in the same direction, then of course. But God wants us to trust Him every step of the way. He doesn't want us to make a plan, and shoot off in straight line without Him, no matter how good the plan is. 

So we consult Him every step of the way. And we take every step with confidence, trusting in the sure hands of our Shepherd, not always knowing exactly where we're going, but always knowing exactly who is leading. 

This enables us to make courageous decisions along the way. Move. Stay. Commit. Marry. Have children. Serve. Work. Change work.

We don't have to have certainty or clarity about the 5, 10 or 20-year consequences of our decisions. We just need to have the conviction to make the decisions right in front of us that allow us to conclude: this is what the Lord wants me to do now. 

This is the decision that starts putting my partner's interest before mine today. 

This is the decision that starts getting me to preach the gospel today.

This is the decision that starts making me more effective in my workplace today.

Sometimes the decisions need to be made over and over again. That's fine. Some of the best resolutions are those that need to be repeated. I'll commit to love my spouse/children/parents/boyfriend/girlfriend more today. I'll commit to read one chapter of the Bible every morning. I'll commit to workout three times a week. I'll commit to serve the poor every month. I'll commit to go on missions every 2-3 months. I'll commit bring one person to Christ every year.

If we seek Him like this, He will be found. Even if we're lousy navigators. Even if we hear Him wrong sometimes. Because even when we hold the compass wrong, the needle will always turn to point true north, no matter how many times we get turned around. We just need to keep looking back at the compass, re-adjust, and then take the next confident step in His direction.

For now we see only as a reflection in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 

1 Corinthians 13:12