What if? Even if?

Vaneetha Risner's thoughts: "I've spent a lifetime considering the what-ifs. Those questions have a way of making me uneasy, destroying my peace, leaving me feeling hopeless. When negative possibilities loom before me, I can't seem to rein in my thoughts. Just asking "What if..." unsettles me.

People in the Bible were unsettled by what-if questions, too. When he was told to lead the Israelites, Moses asked God, "What if they don't believe me?" Abraham's servant asked about Isaac's future wife, "What if the young woman refuses to come with me?" Joseph's brothers asked, "What if Joseph bears a grudge against us?" All of them wondered what would happen if circumstances went awry. Just like we do.

We all face a staggering array of what-ifs. Some are minor inconveniences while others have potentially life-altering repercussions. What if I lose my job? What if I never have children? What if I get cancer? What if my spouse dies? What if my husband never loves me? What if my child never believes in Jesus?

In the Bible, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not guaranteed deliverance. Just before Nebuchadnezzar delivered them to the fire, they offered some of the most courageous words ever spoken. "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it... But even if he does not, we want you to know... that we will not serve your gods" (Dan 3:17-18).

Even if. Those two simple words can take the fear out of life. Replacing "what if" with "even if" in our mental vocabulary is one of the most liberating exchanges we can ever make. We trade our irrational fears of an uncertain future for the loving assurance of an unchanging God. We see that even if the very worst happens, God will carry us. He will still be good. And he will never leave us."

Candy's thoughts: I have struggled with two "What if" questions for 37 years. The first began to invade my thoughts at age 24 when our first child was born: "What if one of my children dies before I do?"  Well, as most of you know, that fear became reality 11 years ago with the death of our son. Immediately after his funeral the second "What if?" question started to plague me: "What if this happens again and another child dies?"

I wish I could say with confidence that I have learned to be "content in all situations" as the Bible instructs us, but I have not. I wish I could say that I "count it all joy when I face various trials," but it takes me a long time to get to that point. Maybe the divine direction through the verse in Daniel 3 will help me to make progress. Even if the unthinkable happens, God will still be God, and heaven will remain a place of supreme joy without any trace of lingering 'what if's.'

With these truths in mind, I can be in full agreement with the great hymn "All Praise to God - Who Reigns Above,"  especially Verse 6:

                                      Then come before his presence now
                                      And banish fear and sadness;
                                      To your Redeemer pay your vow

                                      And sing with joy and gladness:

                                      Though great distress my soul befell,

                                      The Lord, my God, did all things well,

                                      To God all praise and glory!

Even if great distress should come upon me once again, I pray that I would believe, really believe, that the Lord does all things well. To God all praise and glory!