While certainty is a valid desire, it can’t become the primary longing of our lives. Shelly Miller says that desiring certainty over the presence of God can actually leave us with neither certainty nor God’s presence.

Shelly takes us through season of her life when she first came face to face with the idol of certainty in her own life. She and her husband had felt the call to move overseas to London. They had planned for the transition to be quick. However, it was anything but.

“What God had in mind ended up being a lot different. Our pay check ended in August and we didn’t arrive in London until March. We thought would be here in September.”

For the first time, Shelly was faced with an uncertain situation and it opened her eyes to how she viewed God.

“The uncertainty almost ate me alive. I realized I wanted certainty in my life, more than I wanted God’s will and God’s presence with me. It was one of those horrible realizations in my life. When things weren’t progressing, when our timeline wasn’t being fulfilled in the way that we thought it needed it to be, it caused this great fear and this great anxiousness within me. The fear of uncertainty and the fear of not having enough was just threatening to overtake me.”

Shelly discovered that she had made an idol of certainty.

“I realized I had made certainty an idol. I cared more about the comfort and peace that I needed in my heart then I was prepared to wait on God and trust Him for the outcome.”

It’s not too late to start trusting God for your future instead of trusting in worldly things that are passing away.


Shelly Miller is a veteran ministry leader and leads the Sabbath Society, an online community of people who want to make rest a priority. Her writing has been featured in publications internationally. She is also author of .

Key Scripture: Psalm 46:10

Featured Songs: Peace, Be Still – Emmanuel Live; Restless – Audrey Assad; It is Well – Bethel

Rhythms of rest