{"id":25,"date":"2014-04-24T21:04:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-24T21:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=25"},"modified":"2014-04-24T21:04:00","modified_gmt":"2014-04-24T21:04:00","slug":"the-great-unknown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=25","title":{"rendered":"The Great Unknown"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m very taken by some lyrics from a Hillsong United song at the moment. The song is called &#8216;Oceans&#8217; and the words go:<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;You called me out upon the waters<br \/>The Great Unknown,<br \/>Where feet may fail.<br \/>And there I find you in the mystery<br \/>In Oceans Deep<br \/>My faith will stand&#8230;.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>There is something in these words that resonate deeply in my spirit. Whatever some may say, as Christians we do not have a golden ticket to a happy, healthy and wealthy life. We are not exempt from suffering or disease. We do not know what will happen to us in this life. We are called out upon the waters to the Great Unknown. Both the great unknown in what may happen in our lives, and the great unknown in who God really is, the mystery of it all, the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Cloud_of_Unknowing\" target=\"_blank\">Cloud of Unknowing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And yet, as these words say, there we find God. There we find God in the mystery, in the unknowing. In the suffering, in the everyday, in the wide and the deep and the long and the unknown. There we find God at work in our lives, sometimes most evident when we are at our lowest ebb, when we can no longer find resources within ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>And there, in Oceans deep, our faith will stand.<\/p>\n<p>It wobbles sometimes, if you&#8217;re anything like me. Wobbles pretty violently, and nearly falls over. But then like the proverbial weeble we are up again, standing. I wonder if it matters to God whether our standing is firm or weeble-like. I don&#8217;t think so, really. Do you? What I do think is that God holds us there, wobbly or not. &#8216;In oceans deep&#8217; we are not lost or drowned. In the Great Unknown we are not bewildered and beaten. In the mystery we find God. Again, and again, and again.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders<br \/>Let me walk upon the waters<br \/>Wherever You would call me<br \/>Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander<br \/>And my faith will be made stronger<br \/>In the presence of my Saviour.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Amen.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><object class codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\" data-thumbnail-src=\"https:\/\/ytimg.googleusercontent.com\/vi\/dy9nwe9_xzw\/0.jpg\" height=\"266\" width=\"320\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"https:\/\/youtube.googleapis.com\/v\/dy9nwe9_xzw&#038;source=uds\" \/><param name=\"bgcolor\" value=\"#FFFFFF\" \/><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><\/object><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m very taken by some lyrics from a Hillsong United song at the moment. The song is called &#8216;Oceans&#8217; and the words go: &#8216;You called&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,55,47,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-god","category-mystery","category-suffering","category-unknown"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8T2j8-p","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=22","url_meta":{"origin":25,"position":0},"title":"Yet Another SF and Suffering Blogpost.","author":"liz","date":"February 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I know, I know, there are thousands floating round the internet. But seeing as I am sitting propped up in bed and have just taken painkillers, I have a window where I may be able to pen something that makes some kind of sense. Possibly.First of all I should link\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;God&quot;","block_context":{"text":"God","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Oswestry1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1024,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=1024","url_meta":{"origin":25,"position":1},"title":"Recital of Love: Interview with Keren-Dibbens Wyatt","author":"liz","date":"November 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I am so delighted to have Keren on the blog today. Keren is one of the most beautiful writers I know, writing from a place of long-term chronic illness and pain. Her new book, Recital of Love, is a profound work of great beauty and depth. I know you're going\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Book Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Book Reviews","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?cat=175"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Headshot-KDW.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Headshot-KDW.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Headshot-KDW.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Headshot-KDW.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Headshot-KDW.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":346,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=346","url_meta":{"origin":25,"position":2},"title":"Long Story Short by Andy Frost &#8211; Book Review and Giveaway","author":"liz","date":"August 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Andy Frost\u2019s book is centred around the idea that every life tells a story and that we are all searching for an underlying narrative in our lives. He says that we are \u2018shaped by the wider stories we find ourselves in\u2019. He outlines three stories which often seem to underpin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Book Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Book Reviews","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?cat=175"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/610lfGWkCtL-196x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":935,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=935","url_meta":{"origin":25,"position":3},"title":"A Short Reflection on Time","author":"liz","date":"September 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was originally published on the Association of Christian Writers blog. I\u2019ve been reflecting on the nature of time this week.\u00a0Not out of any great philosophical revelation, but simply due to the fact that my daughter has turned twenty years old, and that feels like a big thing, like\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/time.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/time.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/time.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=24","url_meta":{"origin":25,"position":4},"title":"Where is God when it doesn&#8217;t hurt?","author":"liz","date":"November 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been pondering on this one a little of late. 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