The "Unknowns of Life"

More than a decade ago I learned this valuable insight: "You grow the most in the unknowns of life."
       My experience of God is mostly that he seems to mumble a lot to me. I do not often hear Him very clearly. In this instance I heard Him crystal clear:
YOU GROW THE MOST IN THE UNKNOWNS OF LIFE.
       The scene in my life back in 2001 was that I was a first-time senior pastor of a larger church, and the start to my tenure was not good at all. Our congregation experienced multiple, sudden deaths, and I was looked to for leadership and comfort. It was incredibly unknown territory to me.
       These days I am walking alongside a congregation that is experiencing the unknowns of life as a community. There are painfully few answers to the many questions they are asking. Some of them are wounded due to abusive leadership over a number of years. Some of the wounds are raw and open, far from becoming scars.
       And then I am reminded of the lesson I learned a decade ago - the best opportunities to grow and mature are when we are in uncharted territory. The Unknown is the place where I learned to trust God the most, it is the place where I questioned my priorities and what is truly important in my life, and it is when the past and the future mattered very little and I was challenged to live fully in the present.
       I am comforted by King David in Psalm 27 as he wrestled with his own unknowns:

Hear my voice when I call, Lord;

    be merciful to me and answer me.

⁸ 

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”

    Your face, Lord, I will seek.

⁹ 

Do not hide your face from me,

    do not turn your servant away in anger;

    you have been my helper.

Do not reject me or forsake me,

    God my Savior.

~ Psalm 27:7-9