The Undiscovered Country: Embracing Our Journey to the Future
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31, KJV)
"The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is." C.S. Lewis
In Star Trek VI, the Klingon Chancellor Gorkon speaks of death as "the undiscovered country," borrowing Shakespeare's phrase from Hamlet. Yet in the film's closing moments, Captain Kirk reframes this metaphor: "The undiscovered country... the future." What was once a symbol of finality becomes an invitation to possibility.
The Paradox of Waiting and Soaring
Isaiah's promise presents us with a beautiful paradox: those who wait upon the Lord will soar like eagles. In our culture of instant everything, waiting feels like inaction. But the Hebrew word for "wait" (qavah) carries deeper meaning—it suggests hopeful expectation, like a taut rope under tension, ready to spring into action.
The eagle doesn't flap frantically to stay aloft; it finds the thermal currents and rides them with grace and power. Similarly, when we anchor ourselves in God's character and promises, we discover an updraft of strength that carries us forward into uncertainty.
Boldly Going Where We've Never Gone
The Star Trek motto "to boldly go where no one has gone before" resonates with the Christian journey. Every morning, we wake to a day that has never existed before. Every choice we make writes a page in history that has never been written. Like the crew of the Enterprise encountering new civilizations, we face each day with both wonder and trepidation.
The unknown stretches before us, personal challenges, global uncertainties, opportunities we can't yet imagine. C.S. Lewis reminds us that this journey is universal; we're all time travelers moving forward at exactly the same pace, regardless of our circumstances or station in life.
Strength for the Undiscovered Country
What transforms our journey from mere survival to soaring adventure? The promise of renewed strength. Isaiah describes three phases of this strength:
- Mounting up with wings as eagles: Moments of transcendence when we rise above our circumstances
- Running without weariness: Seasons of sustained energy and purpose
- Walking without fainting: The quiet endurance needed for ordinary days
Notice the progression moves from spectacular to mundane. The most remarkable promise might be the last—that we won't faint during the simple act of walking. Most of life happens in the walking, not the soaring.
Curiosity as Spiritual Discipline
The future remains undiscovered not because it's hidden from us, but because it doesn't yet exist. It's being written moment by moment through our choices, relationships, and responses to circumstances beyond our control. This uncertainty isn't a design flaw in creation, it's an invitation to trust.
When we approach tomorrow with curiosity rather than anxiety, we practice a form of worship. We acknowledge that God's imagination exceeds our own, that His plans for us contain possibilities we haven't dreamed. Like children on Christmas morning, we can wake each day wondering what gift the hours might bring.
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