Waiting with Uncertainty
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” —JOHN 16:12-13 (NRSVA)
Waiting for answers, waiting for clarity, waiting to understand when we are suffering is the worst. And yet in these intimate words of Jesus, we get the hint that one day we’ll know.
But when?
When will the Spirit of truth tell us what to make of it all? Because we’re still here, amid the uncertainty, amid the not knowing. We are here struggling with doubt and fear of what this world is coming to, what our lives will be like, what the future holds for our loved ones. Waiting for our cure. Waiting for the job. Waiting for things to feel easier. But perhaps all of this waiting is teaching us something about Advent.
There’s a powerful story that I often return to when I’m thinking about the uneasiness of waiting. It’s grounded in the beliefs and actions of a World War II era German theologian named Dietrich Bonhoeffer. After his plot failed to overthrow Hitler, he wrote these powerful words from prison: “Not all can wait—certainly not those who are satisfied, contented, and feel that they live in the best of all possible worlds! Those who learn to wait are uneasy about their way of life, but yet have seen a vision of greatness in the world of the future and are patiently expecting its fulfillment. The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.” [Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Christmas Sermons. Ed. Edwin Robertson. (New York: Harper Collins, 2005). 21.]
We can experience a terrible sense of unease when we wait. And we are not alone in that feeling. The unwed Mary didn’t know what was going to happen when she got pregnant. Joseph didn’t know what would happen when he accepted Mary. The wisemen did not know what they would find at the end of their journey, disobeying Herod. So perhaps we keep good company with all those who are learning to wait with hope.
REFLECT
1. Re-read Bonhoeffer’s quote from today’s entry. What part stands out the most? Why is it so compelling to you today?
2. The fruits of the Spirit are present whenever you experience “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV). How is the Spirit at work in your world today?
RESPOND
Waiting and uncertainty are the worst. Whether you are waiting on test results, or waiting to hear from a loved one, waiting to find that perfect job, waiting to feel a break in the long list of absurd things that have happened, or simply waiting for the sun to shine again, we are all waiting on something. How can you be vulnerable and share your time in the waiting room with someone else this week? How can you share in the work of the Holy Spirit by bringing love, compassion, or kindness to others who wait too?
A Blessing for When We Don’t Know What’s Ahead
Blessed are you who don’t have all the right answers.
You who realize that I don’t know the best response and posture for now, who lean in unafraid to learn and change and be wrong along the way.
Blessed are you who are being stretched and pressed and pulled by the uncertainty that surrounds us.
You who are deciding to not stay the same because we are not who we were. Things have changed. We have lost things we can’t get back and need to learn new ways to live here now.
Blessed are you who have realized that community really does help us see the truth clearer, even if your chin has to be turned gently (or forcefully) toward it.
Being fragile in the midst of a world of hammers takes courage. It takes courage to live here, to be wrong. Here to learn something new, to choose humility and kindness and one another over being right.
So here’s to us, dear ones, the people who don’t have it together, but who are done pretending to, it’s better this way.
Curious, hopeful, courageous, and becoming.
[Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie. “For When You Need a Second to Think It Over” in The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days. (New York: Convergent Books, 2023). 94.]
GOING DEEPER
How do we live amid all of this uncertainty? Well, psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant believes we may have to do some re-thinking. He talks with Kate about the courage it takes to think again about things that we once felt so certain about in “Leaning Into Uncertainty” (34 minutes)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian. When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, and Nazis took control of the official Protestant Church, Bonhoeffer opposed its antisemitism. When World War II broke out, he was working in the USA. Bonhoeffer chose to return to Germany, so that he could be there to help rebuild the church after the war. He worked for German military intelligence, but he secretly helped Jews escape Germany and aided the anti-Nazi resistance. He was arrested in 1943, but he continued to write on Christian topics—these were smuggled out of jail and published as Letters and Papers from Prison. Many of Bonhoeffer’s writings on the Christmas season emerged from this dark period. The helplessness of his plight can be likened to that of a Christian during Advent—waiting for good news and our redemption.