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14 22 God Holds Our Future Laurel Ackerman Admissions Operations Coordinator "YOU WILL KEEP IN PERFECT PEACE THOSE WHOSE MINDS ARE STEADFAST, BECAUSE THEY TRUST IN YOU. TRUST IN THE LORD FOREVER, FOR THE LORD, THE LORD HIMSELF, IS THE ROCK ETERNAL." - ISAIAH 26:3-4 H ow do you find peace when facing an uncertain future? Often I find myself struggling with some sense of anxiety as I wait to see how the future will resolve. But waiting is a common theme in the Christian walk. Advent is a season that celebrates waiting. Some of the anxiety that was experienced in the first Advent might be lost on us. We know how the story ends. But in the first chapter of Luke, we meet Zechariah at the moment he learns his future is about to change. Zechariah received the startling revelation that he and his wife would have a child despite their old age. He responded to this news by saying, "How will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years" (Luke 1:18). Zechariah was admonished and literally silenced by God's messenger. e rebuke was clear: God had spoken, and God would accomplish His will in His timing. What could be more certain than that? But Zechariah didn't believe. His unbelief was deeper than simply accepting or rejecting God's message. By responding as he did, Zechariah didn't acknowledge God's sovereignty, goodness, and faithfulness to fulfill His word. In Zechariah's response, I hear an echo of my own heart when circumstances seem uncertain. I tend to believe that the future is only certain when I know how events will, or even could, unfold. But by relying on my own understanding to find peace, I ignore God's sovereignty over my circumstances. Zechariah received direct revelation about his future, which is far more than most of us have in a season of waiting. Yet even with direct revelation, Zechariah did not first turn to God, but instead relied on his own understanding of his circumstances. Our peace is not dependent on our circumstances or in our ability to know how or when future events will work out. Rather, it is anchored in God Himself—His sovereignty, His goodness, His faithfulness, and so much more. Rather than struggling in vain to know what the future will hold, I can rest in the knowledge that God holds my future. To find peace in the face of uncertainty is to trust that God is who He says He is. 9 December