BreakingTheCycle: But what if…
But what if *insert fictitious disaster* happens?! But what if *insert event that has never happened in the history of man* happens?! What if….?! What if…?! What if…?!
Is this not one of the most asked questions in our lives? It’s almost as though, we get to a point where we need to make certain decisions and we turn into six-year-olds asking “why” at every turn. And if you’ve ever gone on a first-time trip with a small child anywhere, that analogy made perfect sense. But it’s this sense of not wanting to make the first move unless we know how the entire plan turns out. And somehow, by asking just the right amount of “what if” questions is suppose so solve that for us.
Now at this point, we already know that no particular number of questions is going to help us tell the future. Because it that were true, you can guarantee that I would be somewhere asking all those questions instead of writing this post right now (sorry)! But asking those questions is comforting to us. We at least think we have some insight into the future; even though we really don’t.
But just asking “what if” questions doesn’t keep us from progressing (even though they slow us down greatly). Nope! It’s those pessimistic, self-doubting questions that sabotage our purposes.
Short story about myself. I’ve committed myself to not only writing more, but sharing more of what I write with others (hence the blog and book). But it was (and still is sometimes) an on-going string of questions with myself. Between talking to myself and God, I would ask the same questions all the time.
What if no one reads the blog?
What if no one reads the book?
What if people think my writing is wack?
What if my writing really isn’t that great?
What if my platform never grows???
As I would have these questions on repeat in my mind, God placed another (more impactful) question in my heart. He essentially asked, what if all my worst fears were true, would I still pursue what I know He told me to do?
If no one ever read my blog, would I still post it?
If no ever bought a copy of my book, would I still publish it?
If everyone thought my writing was wack, would I still do it?
If my writing really was mediocre, would I still share it?
If my platform remained one person, would I still be faithful?
Now, written out clearly in that form, of course I would choose being faithful over my own doubts (all of us would). And if this were a Tyler Perry movie, this is the part where the choir would sing a soul-saving song, Cicely Tyson would have words of wisdom and I would submit to my full purpose without hesitation. But this isn’t how we typically form these questions to ourselves and our lives are certainly not movie productions.
But more honestly, there is a question in all this we need to ask ourselves. Are we doubtful because of people’s perceptions or doubtful because we don’t think we heard God’s purpose clearly?
If we’re doubtful of our purpose, we can be certain that we have one and it will be (and probably already is) made clear to us. But if we’re clear on purpose and foggy on people, then we need to realign our thinking to match that of Galatians 1:10.
Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant. NLT
We must continuously evaluate in our hearts whether our “what if” concerns are about God or man.
Chat with God
Identify
What are some of your consistent “what if” questions?
Reflect
What would you do if all of your “what if” fears were true?
Pray
What is your one sentence prayer in this situation?
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