What If!?!?!

How many times a day do you start a sentence with the words, “What if?”

“What if I don’t get that promotion?”
“What if my partner falls out of love with me and cheats on me?”
“What if I get sick?”
“What if I run out of money and don’t have enough?”
“What if my son/daughter______________ (and fill in the blank)?”

The unfortunate part about worry is that we can never fully answer our “worry/what if” questions. Even the most predictable of outcomes in our lives are associated with some amount of uncertainty. The future is uncertain. And worry feeds on that uncertainty.

There are things we can do to try to alleviate our worries . . . we can work harder so that we would be eligible to be considered for a promotion.

We can make sure we invest in our relationships so that we grow and change together, instead of just assuming that relationships will work/stay the same.

We can take great care of bodies, eat well, exercise, go to regular medical check ups to ensure good health.

We can save money and practice living by a budget.

We can invest in our kids with quality time/energy.

But no matter how much we do one of the things listed above, there is nothing we can do to totally alleviate uncertainty.

A lady once shared with me that she was going through a difficult time in her marriage, and there was a chance it was going to lead to separation and divorce. She went to a counselor and shared her concerns.

After listening to her worries and concerns, the counselor replied, “And what would be the worst thing that could happen if that occurred?”

The lady shared that took her aback. Why should she want to consider that outcome and ponder what that would actually mean to the various facets of her life? That would mean she would have to think through the hurt and pain that would come with the divorce. That didn’t sound ideal!

However the counselor went on to explain that when we do allow ourselves to walk through those dark thoughts, most often we can realize that there is nothing that we cannot live through.  So – a marriage ends. . . while that is tragic and life-changing, the marriage did not define her. It was a “part” of her, but would not change who she was as a human being. She was independent and successful prior to the marriage, she would be able to claim that again.

The point of that story is that as followers of Christ, we are allowed to walk into and out of the darkness. We are taught that the worst things aren’t the last things, and we see that as we view a resurrected God.

“What if” we take our “What ifs” and instead of worrying about them, we think them, we claim them, and then we walk through them internally so that we can let them go.