IF
“If Only.” Those are among the two most paralyzing words in the English language. They take us back to events, to people, and to places in our past. There may have been regrets, disappointments, and perhaps guilt or shame. “If only I had not responded in the manner that I did.” “If only I had not said what I did.” “If only I had not been a part of that activity.” “If only I had treated that person differently.” These words ‘“If only” stop our thoughts and other activities while we review and consider the “Might have beens” had it not been for the moments under our review. There is a halt, a pause in our mental process from which it takes time to recover. For some there may have been years that were wasted, opportunities missed, and gifts and talents left unused.
Our greatest “If only” may be to think about what the years would have been like had we turned to Christ and followed Him earlier in our lives. When we look back on those years, we discover that our eyes are focused only upon ourselves and our failures. To consider and review the past “If only’s” of our lives is to be preoccupied with self. It is to say, in effect, “I really am better than that.” “I expected more of myself than that.” “It was not like me to make that mistake.” “I am a more caring person than was reflected in that situation.” To look back and have vain regrets is one of the reasons that Jesus gave us these words in Luke 9:62. “Jesus replied, ’No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’” If our eyes are on the past, they are of no use to us in the present. Our view of the future is obstructed by our laments of the past. To be imprisoned by the past leads to failure in the future.
The Apostle Paul had many reasons to say “If only” as he regarded his life. In I Corinthians 15:9, he stated that he did not even deserve to be called an apostle because he persecuted the Church of God, yet his life was dedicated to the present and not to the past. In Philippians 3:13, he states the following. “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal.” What mattered to Paul was not what he used to be, but what he was now in Christ. He was a new creation in Christ. (II Corinthians 5:17) Christ was his life (Galatians 2:20), and his adequacy. (II Corinthians 3:5-6) By contemplating his union with Christ in the present, he was set free from the “If only’s” of the past. It is these truths that also free us from the “If only’s” of our lives.
“What if?” No other thought pattern occurs so frequently in our minds as the “ What if’s.” The “What if’s” have many sources. “What if I am not able to support myself and my family financially?” “What if I lose my job?” “What if my health fails?” “What if this relationship doesn’t work out?” The list goes on and on. The “What if’s” of life have their beginning in the third chapter of Genesis. In an act of rebellion against the rule of God, man asserted his desire to be God, to make his own rules, and to govern himself. This he was not able to do. He was created to be dependent, not independent. Mankind’s intellect, emotion, and will were created to reflect God, to have fellowship with God, and to have their highest function met by a continued dependence upon Him. When man cast God aside, he rejected the very source of his completeness, the One who by His very name, JEHOVAH, assured man that He would become all that man needed to be. Man was not designed with the capacity to control himself nor his future. God Himself was the only One who would take care man’s present and future needs. Mankind, as a result of his declaration of independence from God, created his own “What if’s”. Having lost his connection with the One true God, he answered his “What If’s” by creating his own deity, which is Mammon. G. Campbell Morgan states that “The worship of Mammon is the rendering to wealth for the sake of its power, of all that man ought to render to God.” G. Campbell Morgan, The Crises of the Christ, Hardpress Publishing, Fifth Edition, Pg 26.
Since the “What if’s” were created by our independence from God, the answer to the “What if’s” is met by a return to dependence. We need to depend first on Him for our redemption and then acknowledge His Lordship over each aspect of our lives. His promises to us, as we grow to trust Him fully, are designed to erase the “What if’s” from our vocabulary. “The Lord himself will go before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forget you. Don’t be afraid and don’t worry.” (Deuteronomy 31:8) “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:14 KJV) “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39 KJV) Our faith in Him is the only appropriate response to the many truths which He has given to us. He has given us His Name as the guarantee of supplying every need. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10) We will always find safety when we run to Him. Bring all your ”What if’s” to Him and lay them at His feet.
If. The Bible is not silent on this word. It is a word proclaiming possibilities, a word of promise, a word that guarantees abundant blessings to those who listen and follow Him.
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14)
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you.” (John 15:7)
“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your light will become like the noon day. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations. You will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. “ (Isaiah 58:10-12)
May His Grace lead us to forsake the “If only’s,” and the What ifs” and concentrate on the “Ifs!”
In Christ, Richard Spann