Finding God in Your “What If”

“Help Sis, What if things don’t get better? What if it does not turn out the way that I thought it would? What if I don’t get this job? What if I am not married by 35? What if God does not come through for me?”

If there were an advice column, I am sure these are just a few of the heavy life questions that would pop up. Our minds love to wander. And the truth is our mind ALWAYS contradicts our spirit. This battle makes it tough to trust God despite what we see.

Listen, our mind can “What if” our life to death if we let it. Often, the uncertainties of life lead us to asking these types of questions. If we can be honest with ourselves, it is easy to trust God with our uncertainties at the very beginning. But what happens when time goes on?...often anxiety rises and worry is so present. Believe me sis, I know the feeling because it’s something I have to wrestle with.

Here’s my thought process--Often times, we hear that God will turn what is meant to be bad or evil and make it work for our good. (Romans 8:28). And it’s true. It’s what God said. Growing up in church, I heard this often. And I often got frustrated because honestly, I didn’t really believe it. I did not see this verse working in my own life at the time. Recently, I pinpointed where the worry and anxiety tries to swoop in on us--we believe it WILL get good but we do not know WHEN it will get good. We do not know when that “thing” will get good and I believe that is the key struggle with the uncertainties of life. This is when the question---”What if it does not get better?” pops into our minds. We get tired. We get exhausted. We get frustrated. We get sick of waiting on God.

I am in the midst of learning a lesson that has stretched me to my core but it is the truth so I want to disclose this with you---Time is something that we are stuck in, NOT GOD. We get frustrated because we see the seconds ticking away and the hours passing by. We see the days turn into weeks turn into months. We have a picture of how life should go and we see a big ole clock in our heads with time running out. And with no care in the world and with no answer to our problem, time does not hold up. Those months turns into years. Ughhh, so frustrating! But hear me when I say this, God is outside out of time so what is taking forever to us is exactly the right time to God. We literally have to wait for his timing to match our time here on earth before we see the promise happen. It’s deep. And I’m not sure that makes the wait easier but I always say, time will pass regardless, will we spend it trusting God or our circumstance?

So many of my blog posts are about waiting on God because that is the season I am in. Honestly, it has seemed like an extended season at times because it has been years. But I want to tell you what God keeps telling me--”Keep going. Don’t give up.” Keep going, sis. I know you are tired of waiting for things to get better. Or tired of waiting for that job opportunity. Tired of waiting for that harvest from those seeds you've graciously sown. Tired of waiting for that acceptance letter. Tired of waiting for that boo. But I truly hold onto the fact that it is better to WAIT ON GOD than wishing we had. Waiting on him will help us to avoid heartache, pain, and temporary wins. What God has for us will last. If you were looking for a sign to keep pressing and believing, THIS IS IT.

Sis, as I continue to go through my waiting journey, I still believe in what God said. I still hold onto the promise he gave me. You should too. At the right time, God will make it happen. (Isaiah 60:22). When we grab hold onto this mindset, our “what if” will turn into “even if.” And the ultimate goal, sis, is for us to have assurance that even if our “what if” does happen, God will be there in the midst of them. Fear is placing your faith in the “what-ifs” rather than in “God is.” I love that quote because it explains how fear is at the root of our “what ifs.” I truly believe if He showed you something or gave you a promise, IT WILL HAPPEN. You may be asking, “How can you be so confident?” My only answer for your peace of mind is that I'm banking on his character AND I have seen him do it for others. God has no favorites so if he can do it for your bestie, your sister, brother, etc..--HE WILL do it for you. And let me say this, God values our journey more than the destination. Look for God in the journey to the promise. I know you will find him.

So to your question of “What if it doesn’t get better?” My answer to you is “What if it DOES get better?” I don’t want you to regret it if you give up NOW. To your question of “ What if it does not turn out the way that I thought it would?” My answer to you is “What if it DOES turn out the way you thought AND BEYOND what you pictured?” (Ephesians 3:20.) To your question of “What if God does not come through for me?” My answer to you is what if He does. Could it be that God is not giving you what you asked for because he has that much more in store if you just hang on? God ain’t mediocre so his blessings definitely won’t be. As they say, greatness takes time. So sis, I'll tell you what I tell myself--take it ONE DAY at a time.

Lastly I want to leave you with this gem that ALWAYS encourages me--”Consider this possibility: you may be ready for what God has for you, but someone else who is going to be involved is not ready yet. God has to do a work in another person or another situation BEFORE your prayer can be answered according to God’s will or your life. ALL the pieces have to come together FOR it to be God’s perfect time. The answer WILL come and it WILL BE right on time. “