What to do With Your "What-Ifs"

At first, I panicked.  My 18-year-old daughter announced her plan to move out of the house on the heels of graduation. Sure, I had done my best to teach Bonnie practical life skills and, most importantly, impressed upon her the ways and character of God. Nevertheless, I suffered a miserable case of “what ifs.”

What if she can’t pay her rent and utilities, car payments, car insurance, gas? What if she’s short on food?  What if she gets sick? What if she lives in an unsafe place? My parental radar assessed this uncharted territory way too adventurous!

Can I trust God to keep “my baby” safe?

Other fears trigger “what ifs”. Driving in crowded highways: “What if I have an accident and I’m injured for life?” Hearing of someone getting cancer: “What if that were me?” While pregnant: “What if my child is born with a mental or physical disability?” When a death occurs: “What if God takes my husband or my children?”

Do you relate?

“What ifs” invite self-protective thoughts.They may seem healthy, but they usually lead to worry.

Our God calls Himself, “Almighty” (Psalm 91:1) which originally meant “unconquerable”. Some scholars relate its origin to the word for “mountain, indicating God’s greatness, strength or His everlasting nature”.

God Almighty, in Hebrew, also means all-sufficient One. He’s capable of being all that His people need. Imagine a fretful infant, needing nourishment, when a mother pulls him to her breast and the disturbed child suddenly becomes quiet and satisfied. God longs for our poised trust; He’s ready to supply all our needs.

The Almighty then describes Himself as a “shelter”, a “refuge”, and a “fortress.” (Psalm 91:1-3) He’s able to defend us and those we love. If we trust in His promises, we need not fear, no matter what comes our way. Not even the “the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday” (Verses 5-6).

My friend’s daughter, with 4 children and a husband, was diagnosed with cancer. When Carol entertained “what ifs” the Lord spoke to her: “Don’t go to the ‘what-ifs’, go to the great ‘I AM’.”

“I AM”, another powerful name for God, expresses His faithfulness. (Genesis 3:14)

“I AM” is infinitely above everything we can understand and say. Carol entrusted her loved ones to “I AM” because she trusts He always knows the hows and whys behind every situation. She felt relief.

The Almighty’s caring heart is engaged with your challenges and my challenges. He may keep us from them or He may keep us in them. Either way our loving Protector invites us to entrust ourselves and our loved ones to Him. Relying fully upon Him is our only way to find relief from our "what-ifs".