It’s a feeling unlike any other. It knots your stomach just before a winner’s name is announced. It keeps you awake at night before a crucial job interview. It can last a moment, or it can last for days. It can take many forms: jealousy, spontaneity, even depression.

It is the unknown. How you respond to it will make or break you.

The scent of our temporal nature permeates everything. We are creatures of the unknown – an evaporating mist, as the Bible states. What else is boredom, if not a moment saturated with certainty? Even children cannot help themselves. How else can you explain the success of children’s books such as The Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys?

It’s why we travel, read adventure novels, play the lottery, try new restaurants, watch championships, play games with dice and countless other things. We can’t get enough, and I believe it is by design. From the weather to chemical reactions inside our bodies, we are surrounded by variables.

So if we cannot avoid it, can we grow from it? We not only can, but we must. Jesus commanded his followers to relish the unknown as a reminder of God’s provision and guidance. Even if you do not subscribe to Christianity, pay no less attention.

Do not think the stress in your life will disappear as soon as the current unknowns in your life are resolved. Another wave is waiting.

This is not a call to apathy. In fact, it is certainly the opposite. Don’t be discouraged – be resolved. No more will you forfeit a day of your life waiting for an unknown to go away. No more will you lie awake wondering what will happen tomorrow.

Live responsibly. Do everything in your power to prepare. When those things are done, embrace your powerlessness. Embrace the unknown. It is what makes you human. It is what drives you to improve. It is the source of emotion and the catalyst of circumstance.

Uncertainty can dictate your mood, discourage your faith and demolish your confidence. But it wears a bridle, and you hold the reins.