asbc seek devotionals 2025 2 - Flipbook - Page 38
DEVOTIONAL JOURNAL | ALFRED STREET BAPTIST CHURCH
Day 17: Trusting God
Through Uncertainty
REV. DR. JOY CHALLENGER SLAUGHTER
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to
him, and God will make your paths straight.”
– Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
“This is a story about control,” says Janet Jackson in her coming-of-age single about taking
responsibility for her own life’s decisions. Among other things, it’s her declaration and
acceptance of the consequences of her choices. Entering a relationship with God through
Christ is an independent decision. It is our choice, yet it doesn’t guarantee us the kind of
CONTROL of which Ms. Jackson was singing.
Choosing to love in actuality is a story about giving up control. It is a journey filled
with uncertainty even when a wise decision has been made. Wedding vows often try
to encompass the dyads of unpredictability of loving relationships: in sickness/health,
plenty/want, joy/sorrow… you get the point.
The young Jackson doesn’t realize that living out love requires a degree of surrender
to the uncertainty and our inability to control it all. Instead, a choice of love is a
surrendering of our will to be co-mingled with that of another. It is a sobering thought.
Loving requires the relinquishing of ‘total’ control. Despite this truth, I join Janet’s
liberating declaration for control with a twist. Choose to love in the face of uncertainty.
Decide to love through uncertainty even when the path ahead is unclear or illogical. I
found love later in life and did not have the naivety of an illusion of control. Instead, I
entered marriage knowing that love is a choice to surrender a little control and trusting
God to guide my decisions.
JOURNAL REFLECTIONS
In what areas of your life are you trusting
the process, embracing vulnerability, and
showing compassion despite your doubts or
fears that may arise?
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PRAYER
God, grant me a security in vulnerability to trust you
above my fears. Amen.
