What Can We Count On?

A Strange Correlation

There seems to be in life a strange correlation between needing a piece of equipment to do something immediately and that same piece of equipment failing completely. This has been called “Murphy’s Law” describing that when the worst can possibly happen, the worst will happen. On balance, this is more likely a perception problem. We seldom notice when equipment functions correctly, but we notice when it does not.

What About Life?

This opens the question about various aspects of life in general. What things are there in life we can truly count on? All machines created by man degrade over time and will eventually fail. The many constants of human civilization can be disrupted in a surprisingly short time, with causes such as natural disaster, war, economic collapse, etc. Many things that are considered bedrock foundations of our lives can be turned upside down, creating a situation of true panic.

God’s Promises

In contrast with the surprises of life, it is important to consider that those things God established and promised to us never seem to fail. The universe continues to spin along as it should, and will as long as God intends it to remains so because He sustains and keeps it (Psalm 148, et al.). Despite the hysteria surrounding the climate of our planet, any concern is immaterial, for we know that this world will continue on until the appointed time when it has been reserved for fire (2 Pet. 3:7). Even the most basic of physical laws remain constant and unchanging.

One could argue that the uncertainty of life surrounding happenstance and circumstance undermine such certainty in God, but those very same dangers in life are themselves consequences of man’s choices, not of God’s. God created the world to be very good (Gen. 1:31) and it would have remained that way indefinitely.

The Greatest Lesson

So then, with all this in mind, the greatest lesson to be learned when we consider what we can count on in life and what we cannot is not just this present life, but the next. If we cannot trust our physical future to the purview of man, why should we trust anything that man teaches us about eternity? If God has sustained this world so perfectly, why should we ever doubt His promise to keep those in Christ? When all is said and done in life, what else can we count on but the promises of God? And would we need anything else anyway?