{"id":45515,"date":"2008-07-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-07-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/embracing-uncertainty\/"},"modified":"2008-07-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T18:51:35","slug":"embracing-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/embracing-uncertainty\/","title":{"rendered":"Embracing Uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"

In his book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day<\/em>, Mark Batterson talks about the joy that comes through unexpected things—a lesson he learned while on vacation with his family in Orlando, Florida:<\/p>\n\n

\n

One morning we were sitting at a stoplight in our rental van. The light turned green, and the car in front of us didn't go, so I decided to give them a little "love tap" on the horn. But when I hit the horn, it got jammed, and I couldn't turn it off. The poor people in front of us! They must have thought I was a raging lunatic!<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

I quickly pulled into a gas station while everybody stared at us. We were mortified, but fortunately the horn stopped honking when I turned the van off. So I started the van back up, and we got onto the highway. About two miles down the road, the horn started honking again without me even touching it. Scout's honor. So we were driving down the highway at seventy miles per hour blaring our horn at everybody and their brother. I'm not sure what people were thinking, but it felt like we were screaming at people. Get out of my lane, sucker! This road belongs to us!<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

I honestly didn't know what to do. Malfunctioning horns weren't covered in my driver's ed class. So I did what I do whenever anything is broken: I hit it. I just kept pounding the horn, and it would actually stop honking for a few seconds. Then it would sporadically start honking again.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

That fifteen-minute ride would rank as one of the most chaotic driving experiences of my adult life. But you know what? We're still laughing about it…. In fact, I don't think my kids will ever forget the now infamous "honking horn" incident.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

Most of our trip was preplanned. We planned on swimming. We planned on catching lizards. We planned on visiting the Magic Kingdom. And all of these planned activities were a blast. But the highlight of the trip was totally unplanned. You can't plan a horn malfunction. But that horn malfunction causes as much laughter as the rest of the trip combined.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

Now here's my point: Some of the best things in life are totally unplanned and unscripted.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

I'm not a movie critic, but in my humble entertainment estimation, the greatest movies have the highest levels of uncertainty. Whether the uncertainty is romantic or dramatic, scripts with the highest level of uncertainty make the best movies. In the same vein, I think high levels of uncertainty make the best lives. …<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

Faith is embracing the uncertainties of life. … It is recognizing a divine appointment when you see one.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

Embrace relational uncertainty. It's called romance<\/em>. Embrace spiritual uncertainty. It's called mystery<\/em>. Embrace occupational uncertainty. It's called destiny<\/em>. Embrace intellectual uncertainty. It's called revelation<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[405,406,411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3572,3592,3746,3760,3783,3790,3933,4033,4109,4180,4510,4633,4752,5195,5204,5277],"tax_ctp_topics":[378],"class_list":["post-45515","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-choice","tax_ctp_tags-christian-life","tax_ctp_tags-decision","tax_ctp_tags-dependence","tax_ctp_tags-direction","tax_ctp_tags-discernment","tax_ctp_tags-faith","tax_ctp_tags-future","tax_ctp_tags-guidance","tax_ctp_tags-human-limitations","tax_ctp_tags-mystery","tax_ctp_tags-perspective","tax_ctp_tags-questions","tax_ctp_tags-trust","tax_ctp_tags-uncertainty","tax_ctp_tags-will-of-god"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"\nEmbracing Uncertainty - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/embracing-uncertainty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Embracing Uncertainty - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In his book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Mark Batterson talks about the joy that comes through unexpected things—a lesson he learned while on vacation with his family in Orlando, Florida: One morning we were sitting at a stoplight in our rental van. 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