MKAO: Navigating Uncertainty: Day 5

Hello, everyone.

My name is Tim and we are Marcello, Marcello.

Hawaiian means in the presence where people that believe in

the presence of God and you believe in being present

with one another and being president in the community.

And it's such an honor for me today to get

to share Day Five our devotional Siris on navigating uncertainty.

I wanted to think one and Hanzo and Mellie and

Mark so far for their devotion than their reflection.

Question has been such a blessing for me and I've

been so encouraged by each one of you.

So thank you very much.

I mean, today I wanted to start off by just

going through and reviewing some of the different ways that

we can express uncertainty that talked about on Monday.

And the five different expressions are uncertainty or anger, avoidance,

abdication, absent mindedness and anxiety.

I was reflecting on that this week and to some

degree I have experienced and relates all five of those,

but the one that really kind of jumps out at

me that I turned to the most would be avoidance

and his unmentioned in her devotional of what is can

manifest itself in several different ways, but in general it

involves repressing your emotions or for years detaching yourself, which

blocks confronting or processing the issue.

And then sometimes you can turn to addictive behaviors, distracting

yourself with binge eating, binge doing, watching your drinking.

And I definitely relate all three of those in.

And that's how I deal with uncertainty sometimes.

And she also pulls the really wonderful question with regards

to avoidance is their underlying anxiety, uncertainty, fear or shame?

Ur armoring up against.

And I was thinking about that, and certainly over the

past, um, month or so with Kobe 19 there's been

some underlying anxiety and true that I've had that If

let's let me to turn to avoidance, but also about

reflect over the last 10 years or the course of

my adult life, I need to any point in my

life where I've had, um, uncertainty or I've had, um,

a problem or an issue or just some kind of

turmoil in my life.

I've always tended turn to these avoidant behaviors, and at

each point in my life, when I have experienced something

like now with Kobe 19 I've had some fear and

anxiety the way the anxiety, I guess Manifest itself for

me. Um, during the 19 was initially I was just

fearful about my finances and being furloughed from work and

would be ableto support us financially.

I was also a little bit worried about some of

the more elderly members of my family and their health.

And then in general, I was just worried about the

state and our country in the entire world and how

we would deal with the situation so I could feel

myself kind of when the quarantine started, really starting to

head down this road of avoidance.

And God gave me a verse that has helped encourage

meet other points in my life.

Um, where I've dealt with uncertainty and that verse is

one of the most popular and preached on versus out

there. But I really like it.

It's Philippians 46 to 7.

Do not be anxious for anything but in every situation

by parent petition with Thanksgiving present, your requests to God

and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will

guard your hearts and your minds in Christ.

Jesus and I really love this first, and I feel

that it's very applicable.

Teoh, the times we live in right now where there

is a lot of uncertainty and fear.

And I always kind of asked myself, You know, what

exactly is the peace of God and how can I

get more of the peace of God?

And I really like a quote from Tim Calorie talks

about the peace of God, he says The peace of

God is not the absence of fear.

It, in fact, is his presence.

And that really resonated me with me because I realized

that peace is ah, characteristic of God.

And by seeking God's presence more intentionally on being in

his presence and talking with them and sharing your burdens

and concerns with him.

He received God's peace through being in this presence.

So that really struck me.

And, um, over the past 4 to 6 weeks during

the quarantine and everything called the 19 there's been three

sort of practical ways.

Spiritually disciplines, if you will, that I've been ableto wanted

to wrap this.

That really helped me to experience God's presence more and

also his piece.

I just wanted to share those brief with you.

Um, the first practices been to actively seek God and

spend time with him each morning, with the gym's being

closed and everything, I started doing a little bit more

walking. So each morning when I get up, I'll go

on a walk around the neighborhood.

I'll bring my earphones and I'll listen to certain and

sometimes listen to worship music.

And sometimes I'll just I'll just talk with God.

But I found that those starting off my day with

God has just given me a lot more peace.

And by having more peace and kind of casting my,

um, worries and concerns on him, it's free me to

be less focused on myself and freed me toe, consider

others and serve others and encourage others more than just

being consumed them or with the concerns that I have.

So it's been a really cool experience for me.

The second has been experiencing Sabbath rest, and for the

old deception core, I think you're gonna talk about Sabbath

rest in the next few months.

Here are the nude seven succour, but for our old

establish 1/4 we talking about Sabbath rest in for me.

I've realized that one way, Um, for me that I

get Sabbath rest is through doing yard work I thought

was really cool.

Yesterday, Mark talked about the parable of sowing the seeds

and farming.

I just feel like Jesus talked to his disciples a

lot, um, through parables and metaphors about plants and farming,

and I just want to give a quick example.

Something got taught me through doing yard work.

We have a big bougainvillea bush that's really owns about

50 years old, and over time some other Bushes have

kind of grown into it and started choking it out.

So it wasn't as Elsie so tell you said I

well, mostly the least.

Actually, she wanted me to point that out to you

guys. But we prove in the bush all the way

down, and we read and were able to dig up

and kill the other Bush that was choking it out.

Initially, it looked like it might be dead, but over

the last three weeks it's still he started to grow

back, and now it's stronger than ever because it's not

being choked out by these other bushes and reasoning or

so just made me think about one of the parables

that Jesus told them, and God has been ableto teach

me a lot just through working in the art.

And no, I don't want to come working any of

your yard.

Sorry. And finally, and the most important thing for me

has been experiencing God's peace through community.

As I look back over my adult life, I've tried

Teoh, um, walk with God alone without having a Christian

community. And that's just not the way that God designed

for us to go through life.

And there's another quote I'm gonna share from two Keller

something, a lot of time, color quotes.

But he talks about community, and he says only if

you are part of a community of believers seeking to

resemble serve and love.

Jesus, will you ever get to know him and grow

into his likeness?

And I really love that quote, and I found that

over the past year and 1/2 that I've been part

of Mark Yellow really experienced God in his presence more

fully, and I've just learned so much more about his

nature through Oh my brothers and sisters.

In our community, I have experience and interact with God.

It's just been such a blessing to me being part

of a community and that's being the big difference between

um, this Cove in 19 situation and how I've dealt

with uncertainty in the past is that before I would

try to go at it alone, but I was still

see God's presidents.

But it's it's a whole another level when you're part

of a community and you can share each other's burdens

and do life together.

Um, so what I've learned is that through community, we

can experience God's peace more fully.

So I wanted to think all of you for just

being there for me and and walking with Titus and

I. Your life has been such a blessing for me

or during this time.

So finally, I want to move along to just to

reflection questions.

So the first reflection question is what fear, anxiety or

worry? Do you need to present to God today so

you can just reflect on that today and then the

second question is, in what way can you intentionally seek

God's presence at his piece?

That so those were just two questions that we can

reflect on and think on today.

I just want to thank you for taking the time

to join us for this devotional.

I hope that it was a blessing and encouragement for

you. And I hope everyone has Ah, wonderful Memorial Day

weekend Then that we can all experience God's peace more

fully. Thank you.

MKAO: Navigating Uncertainty: Day 5

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