Many people today are struggling with the question ..WHAT IF?
What if I get Covid 19
What if I lose my job and CERB is not available
What if there is no future in Oil??
TheThe what ifs can be frightening to some.
There are numerous what ifs that people are asking and for many there are no known answers.
As I look back over my life, especially before becoming a Believer there were many what ifs that caused stress in my life.
We all have WHTA IF’S in our lives and many people life their whole life with WHAT IF.
examples..
What if I married that person
What if I had made that decision
What if I hadn’t smoked or drank alcohol or took drugs
You can think of what ifs in your life, in your family anfd friends.
The Bible has many what if stories.
EX 4:1 Moses: What if they do not believe me and say” The Lord did not appear to you
Gen 24:5 Abraham’s Servant when told to go to and find a wife for Isaac from his people. What if the young woman refuses to come with me?
Genesis 50:15 Joseph’s brothers to their father. What if Joseph bears a grudge against us??
You may be able to think of others..
I know I still have my what ifs but
God doesn’t promise us a trouble free life But he promises to give sufficient Grace to deal with whatever we have to face.
Our What if’s should be Even if
Dan 3: 17-18 Ref Shadrach, Meshach and Abendego in response to King Nebuchadezzar.
16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. 18But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”
Hab 3:17
17Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, 18yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!…
I believe paul had many what if’s in his ministry but I believe His choice was even though
Throughout Paul’s ministry he suffered trials and persecution for the sake of Christ. He was stoned, beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, and betrayed. He often went without food, sleep, and shelter. During his Roman imprisonment, he also felt alone with no other person to support or defend him. Demas left him because he loved the world. Alexander did him “a great deal of harm.” Yet through it all, the Lord stood with him. Paul was comforted and strengthened by God’s powerful presence.
Paul’s life stands as a testimony to God’s power and grace working in the lives of His people to carry out His purposes. The apostle Paul’s last written words, in his second letter to Timothy, reveal the reality of God’s strength made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9):
“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8, NIV)
May our What if’s become Even if or Even though..