Whatever Happens

by Gene Shelburne

In a speech given the day after President Bush’s State of the Union address, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld warned, “Our challenge in the new century is a difficult one—to prepare to defend our nation against the unknown, the uncertain, the unseen, and the unexpected.”

There’s every reason to believe he was right on target with his assessment, and we can pray with faith and hope for our nation’s leaders to do their work wisely and well. They have an awesome responsibility.

It was hard for me to ignore Mr. Rumsfeld’s reference to the “unknown, the uncertain, the unseen, and the unexpected.” It wasn’t a Bible quote, but it almost sounded as if it could have been.

In the first chapter of Philippians, Paul twice mentions “what has happened to me,” the reference being to his being imprisoned and in chains. This was not Paul’s first lock-up, so being in jail was not particularly an unexpected event in his life. But toward the end of the chapter he mentions “whatever happens,” which covers all sorts of unexplored territory.

“Whatever happens” is to some degree what life is all about. We plan, we pray, we do what we can. But we don’t control events. While we believe God to be sovereign in his world, evidence suggests that random events pop up in our lives. (Someone far wiser than I am will need to sort out this issue.) “Whatever happens.” Is this a way of saying “Expect the unexpected?”

The realization that there’s a “whatever” which is unknown, uncertain, unseen, and unexpected, just waiting to happen, makes us appreciate our Lord all the more. As we grasp the reality of how exposed and vulnerable we are to life’s vicissitudes, we value more dearly that which is certain and dependably good.

Paul told the Philippian Christians that “whatever happens,” either in his life or in their own, they were to conduct themselves “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” “Stand firm,” he told them, as you face the future united in “the faith of the gospel.”

Living as Christians is the one sure preparation we have for facing all the unknowns of life. We have good news whatever happens.