You must be blameless before the LORD your God. — Deuteronomy 18:13

Each week in synagogue or at home, Jews read through the Torah from Genesis to Deuteronomy. The Torah portion for this week is Shoftim, which means “judges,” from Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9.

Have you ever been in a situation where you wished you could get a glimpse into the future and see what it will bring? I know I have! When I first met my husband, when I moved to Israel, when I was expecting my first child, when my father passed away suddenly — at these critical moments in my life, I wondered what the future held and craved the certainty that all would turn out as I would like.

It’s tempting to want to know what lies ahead on our life’s path. However, as this week’s Torah reading illustrates, in order to walk with God on our journey, we must not try to push ourselves ahead of Him.

In this week’s Torah reading, God issued the prohibition against going to sorcerers. Scripture directs us: “You must be blameless before the LORD your God.”

The Hebrew word in the text translated as “blameless” is tamim, which literally means “whole,” or “wholehearted.” Based on this understanding the Jewish sages suggested an alternative reading of this verse: “You must trust the LORD your God wholeheartedly.”

In the context of verses which prohibit divination, this Scripture teaches us that part of trusting God means not needing to know the future. To trust God wholeheartedly means to know that whatever lies ahead will always be exactly what we need, for our own good, and from God — no matter how things appear in the moment. Moreover, trusting God to handle our future leaves room for Him to do the unexpected, instead of anything we might have predicted.

These days, the entire world is facing the challenge of uncertainty. With the coronavirus crisis sweeping our globe, many of us are anxious about the future. However, as people of faith, now more than ever we must cling to God and trust Him wholeheartedly. Even though we cannot see how this challenge will be resolved, we can take comfort in knowing that God is in control.

As always, now is a time to walk with God, trust Him as our lives unfold, and even find joy in every step of the journey.

Your turn: Which Bible verse do you turn to for inspiration and encouragement during times of uncertainty? Share your verse in the comment section bellow.