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What happens to us when we’re caught up in the “what ifs” of life? What if this happens or that doesn’t happen? This “what if” condition is really just fear, isn’t it? When fear grips your mind, it can paralyze you.
Do you remember the story of Moses when God confronted him and told him he had a job for him to do—to face Pharaoh and deliver his people from bondage? Moses had a bunch of “what ifs.”
What if “I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” “What if I can’t speak well because I am not eloquent and I am slow of speech?” (Exodus 3)
Moses had lots of reasons why he could not do what God was asking him to do. But God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God reminded Moses that he could go with confidence in God’s ability to do what Moses could not do. Moses’s “what ifs” were real, but the God Jehovah was greater than his fears.
Are you in the “what if” stage of doing what God has asked you to do? What if I fail? What if people think I’m crazy? What if I don’t have enough resources? If that’s where you are, I understand. I’ve been there, but I’ve learned that if God is in it, he will accomplish it through you. Following Jesus is not risk-free. C. S. Lewis puts it this way, referring to Aslan, the Lion in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, “He’s not safe, but he’s good.” If you’ve decided to follow Jesus, you are learning that it’s not always safe, but it’s always good to do what God is calling you to do.
You can trust God, wherever he is leading you. He is good and he will take care of all your “what ifs,” just as he did for Moses. Remember, his name is I AM—I am everything you need. And you can replace your “what ifs” with this truth from 1 Thessalonians 5:24: “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.”