Going Without Knowing

Pastor Fred Werhan says that “the very nature of our life and living in this world is going without knowing where it is we are going.”

This is a truth that began with our birth. We had no choice about where we were born or to what parents. All throughout our lives we are influenced by the people we know and the events we experience.

These influences impact the decisions we make and the directions we take. Would you be the same person you are today if you had not been born to the parents you had? Would you be the same person if you had not gone to your particular school? Would you be the same person if you had not married that particular person, or had those particular children, or taken that particular job?

The point is that many of the factors that determine who we are are beyond our control. In other words, “we are going without knowing.”

However, even though we may not control many of the factors that determine where we go, we do have a choice as to how we’re going to get there. That’s where Hebrews 11:1 comes into the picture. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” What the writer of Hebrews is saying here is that “Faith is going without knowing where we are going. But we are going with the assurance that wherever we end up, we will be all right. Because wherever we go, if we go in faith, God will always be there leading us into God’s will and purpose.

John Greenleaf Whittier wrote a poem called “The Eternal Goodness” that says it all:

I know not what the future hath/ Of marvel or surprise,/ Assured alone that life and death/ God’s Mercy underlies. / I know not where his islands lift /Their fronded palms in air,/ I only know I cannot drift/Beyond his love and care./Yet in the maddening maze of things/And tossed by storm and flood,/To one fixed trust my spirit clings, /I know that God is good.

Do you know where you are headed today? Probably not completely. But I certainly hope you know who travels with you on your journey of life. It is a good God who brings the blessings of life.

Tim Hobbs, Pastor