"Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all were created, in heaven and on earth, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He will be preeminent in all things. Because in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell; and through Him all things are being reconciled to His accounting, whether on earth or in heaven; and with His blood on His cross He made peace." Colossians 1:15-20
Vacillation between believing God's command without believing His promise and believing God's promise without believing His command is ubiquitous. The first results in despair and the second in presumption. To reduce vacillation, make positive moves toward Christ, the source and center of all things. As life progresses you'll become less a vacillator and more a "living stone", with all God's children, "being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God" (1 Peter 2:5).
The consequences of vacillation (despair and presumption) are generally blamed on circumstances, but circumstances are rarely the problem; a lack of faith in the Source and Center of all things generally is. In the angst of God's gracious correction we often cry "why, why?", as if we'd be satisfied were God to explain Himself to us. Truthfully, our angst is solved in knowing and remembering in faith that it's not about us, it's about Christ.
The closer we come to the source and center of all things, the better we see the connections because "movement toward the eternal One yields one outcome when starting from any one point." (Christian J. Benson)
