Dear New Life,

I keep thinking about Kyle's sermon from yesterday: part 1 of "Risk it for the Biscuit." Is it an unusual series? Yes. But it also hit me profoundly hard.

I'm not what most people would call a risk taker (or a gambler), so I was worried this new teaching series wouldn't be all that relevant for people like me. As it turns out, I shouldn't have been concerned.

What particularly caught my attention is the idea that we worship certainty. We long for it. It impacts so much of our decision making. As I've been dwelling on my own heart, I find this to be uncomfortably and inescapably true.

I really value my relationship with God, and I believe that I trust Him ... yet I still have a hard time not knowing or controlling how things are going to turn out in life, or the lives of my friends. It's hard leaning into God in the midst of difficult things.

Do you struggle with this, too? I wonder what God might do with the rest of this series to catch our attention in an area that is easy for us to ignore. I also wonder how much more peace I would have in life if I could swap my longing for certainty with a longing for God who gives just what is needed in the proper time.

Joel VanderSchel, on Behalf of the Elder and Minister Team