Recently, a brief letter from a family member painted a telling picture of our nation's Capitol, and perhaps reflected the sentiments of a nation in the grip of the unknown. She wrote, "Helicopters are circling very low, sirens are screaming, the police are parked outside. On the other hand, children are playing and laughing outside my window during recess. It is an uneven and uneasy situation…"

It is not hard to sense that we are living in times marked by uncertainty; and often, it is this sense of the unknown, the weight of things uncertain, that can all too easily stifle hope and foster despair. And whether your fears originate from military battle or a battle with cancer, whether your worry is of natural disaster or marital disaster, political unrest or emotional unrest, the question is the same: How do we get through uneven and uneasy times? Or as Ravi Zacharias has asked, "How do you steady the soul when the heart is breaking?" (Footnote 1: Light in the Shadow of Jihad )

A powerful illustration emerged from the bombing raids of World War II where thousands of children were orphaned and left to starve. Many of these children were rescued and sent to refugee camps where they received food and shelter. Yet even in the presence of good care, they had experienced so much loss that many of them could not sleep at night. They were terrified they would awake to find themselves once again homeless and hungry. Nothing the adults did reassured them—until someone sent a child to bed with a loaf of bread. Holding onto their bread, the children could sleep. If they woke up frightened in the night, the bread seemed to remind them, "I ate today and I will eat again tomorrow." (Footnote 2: Dennis Linn, Sleeping with Bread, (New York: Paulist, 1995) p. 1)

Dear friend, may I suggest, in times of uncertainty, we hold on to what gives us life.

A similar illustration emerges from the Gospels. Before going to his death Jesus Christ spoke to his disciples of the times lying ahead of them, times that they would face without his physical presence. He said, "In a little while, you will see me no more; then, a little while later, you will see me." At his words the disciples responded, "What is this that he telling us? We don't understand what he's talking about!" (Footnote 3: John 16:16,18) But now listen to how Jesus responds to their uncertainty. At the end of his talk with the disciples about things uncertain he says to them, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in me you might have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (Footnote 4: John 16:33)

Christ reminds us that peace can transcend understanding when we cling to the One who gives us Life. It is interesting to note that his use of the word "peace" portrays that quiet state of mind, which is infinitely dissimilar to disquietness or despair. It is as if Jesus says, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in me you might be thoroughly quieted by what gives you life."
And truly, it is the victory of Christ that gives us life, the surety of that victory that gives us peace in uncertain times.