These days, as we attempt to navigate the troubled waters of the coronavirus it’s not the things we know that disturb us most. It’s those things that are not known.  

 

When can I return to my normal lifestyle without fear of becoming infected? Not known. When will I be able to return to work? Not known. When can we safely return to church? Not known. When can I safely visit members of family? Not known. When will a vaccine become available? Not known.  

   

Will my business survive this extended disruption? Not known. Will the stock market regain its losses or will my retirement investments suffer greater demise? Not known. Will our children return to school in the fall and, if so, will their education suffer from this extended hiatus? Not known. If I contract the virus will I be a survivor or a fatality? Not known.  

 

Even as we go about our new normal routine the unknown seems to follow us around like some haunting specter. If I wear gloves and masks can I safely shop for medicines and groceries? Not known. Is the guy in front of me at the post office carrying the disease that could kill me? Not known. Is the mail in my mailbox safe to touch? Not known. Are we going to run out of meat? Not known! Can I safely get my hair cut? Not known. Will there be college football in the fall? Not known. 

 

In a more normal season questions like these would mark someone suffering from extreme paranoia; but these days, fear of the unknown has become the rule, not the exception.

 

We don’t like the unknown, do we; nor are we equipped to deal with it. In a day of advanced technology we’re accustomed to getting quick answers to almost any question. An almost inexhaustible supply of information is but a mouse click away. Want to know why pepper makes you sneeze? Just Google it and you’ve got an instant answer. Want to know the cubed root of the sun’s diameter? It’s 95.2943777245. (I’m no math whiz but Google is.) Want to know the height of the tallest mountain (29,035 feet) or the depth of the deepest sea (36,070 feet)? The answer is no farther away than two clicks of a mouse. But these days we could care less about the height of Mt Everest or the depth of the Mariana Trench. We simply want to know when life will return to normal and the answer seems so far away.  

 

So what can we do to endure in the land of the unknown? Might I suggest moving to the land of faith? You see, people of faith can tolerate the unknown because faith does not require answers. Faith simply trusts God to deal with those things that are unknown. The proverb writer sums it up well when he instructs, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding” (Proverb 3:5). Yes, when our own understanding is inadequate, faith provides a security that answers cannot.  

 

When will life return to normal? I do not know, but I do know this. God can see what I cannot so my best bet is to trust in Him. Perhaps song writer, Stuart Hamblen, said it best in the hymn, Known Only to Him. “I know not what the future holds, but I know who holds the future. It’s a secret known only to him.”