What If...

Chapter 4

As I read each chapter, all I can do, usually in the first paragraph, is think “I do that all the time!” So this chapter had to deal with thinking/dwelling on the future. None of us know the future, so why do we think about it so much then. I believe society and the way a person is raised is the biggest factors. Not sure about you, but my parents would always say to me, “Well, when you grow up…” or “think about your future…” And then in society, it’s all about saving for the future and planning out your life. Of course I believe everyone should have a plan for their life but they also can’t allow their wants/desires to come before God’s purpose for their life. This is what I am struggling with right now and all kinds of “What if…” statements flood my mind. As I continue dwelling on these statements days, weeks, & months pass by and I have not accomplished anything for Him. Here are a few of the “What if” statements which range from God’s plans to my fears of the future.

• What if I only do good works and there is no discipleship/teaching/spreading God’s Word attached to the works? Will it be discounted when I stand before Him?
• What if what I think He wants me to do is not what really what He wants and it’s really what I want?
• What if I waste this life by just going through the motions?
• What if my parents die tomorrow, will I be able to continue living and be productive?
• What if I am single for the rest of my life? And then if I am, is it alright for me to adopt a child or have a child on my own? And raise that child with only one parent? (I firmly believe that a child needs a father and mother, so this goes against everything I believe.
• What if I get desperate, will my desires to have a child outweigh my stand on a child being raised by two parents?)
• What if I never travel to the countries I want to go to?
• What if I go through this life and never experience true friendship? Friendship like my mother has with so many people. I envy that part of her life and wish I had those kinds of friendships. I just fear that I’m going to end up like my father who has lived his life and has no lasting friendships and doesn’t keep in touch with anyone.
• What if I should be doing something else with my life? How do I know?
• What if I don’t accomplish my dreams and goals?
• What if I die tomorrow, will anyone remember me a year from now?
• What if I fail God?
• What if I gain all the material items but never experience joy, love, and peace of mind?
• What if I get cancer like my mother and I am not as strong to survive through it?

These are just some of the “What If…” statements that run through my mind on a daily basis. And this chapter just reiterates the point that I have been learning in biblical counseling, that every time these “What If…” statements come into my mind I have to return to Scripture and read what God says. And as this book states over and over, “what is real and true.” I can’t determine what is in the future, so I must live in the present and shape the present for the future. I have to have faith that God will guide me to where I should be and show me the purpose He has for my life. As Psalm 73:24 says, “With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory.” His counsel will guide me through life. I have realized in the past couple of years that money and material things are not the main goal. Even though I like to have the latest gadget, I could give it all up in a heartbeat. Material things do not make me tick anymore. I grew up in a town where everyone had to have the best clothes, best car, and what not…and I still live there. The difference between now and ten years ago is I don’t care what people think about where I live or what I own, it’s not what truly matters. I am continuously amazed how there is something in the Bible for everything. Take Hebrews 13:5-6, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ so that we confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?’” Just perfect! Be content with what you have.

A few weeks back I was reading the Bible and came across a verse that is perfect for only focusing on the present but for the life of me I can’t find it. The jest of what it said was no one knows when they are going to die and all a person has is today. Similar to the “seize the day” philosophy. When I read it, I just had to stop, take it in, and see the ultimate truth beyond it. Here is a similar verse (but doesn’t pack the same punch as the other one), Ecclesiastes 8:7, “If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen?” Isn’t that the truth, no one can predict the future, so why then dwell on it. The future is in God’s hands not ours. God created everything and there is a reason He made it so no person is able to predict the future.

For Ecclesiastes 7:14 says, “In the day of prosperity be happy, But in the day of adversity consider – God has made the one as well as the other So that man will not discover anything that will be after him.” Everything God sets forth has a purpose, I may not know what that is but I do know He Knows all. And through Him I can do anything. If the future calls for some kind of adversity in my life, so be it. I have to have faith that He will lead me through it and I will come out of it a stronger person. Below are a couple of verses I have to come back to when I don’t think I will be able to handle what life has in store for me and I start to think about the future.

Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Philippians 4:19, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:28 – “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Update: I found the verse about not knowing our future...James 4:14-15, "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'"