What If..

You know how that goes. "what if...such and such happens..." And for me, usually it's "what if this goes wrong...or that, or even something worse..." I always tend to go to the worst possible scenario. I wish it was not this way, but worry often plagues my mind much more than I am willing to admit, and when worry is there, so is fear, and whats bad about that, is this...

When I am worrying and being fearful, and I am not trusting God and His plans for me, that He will give me discernment when something is bad enough that I need to act.

Women I think have a terrible time with fear, mostly for our families, and "what ifs" are endless and we worry over all the possibilities of trauma that could hit our lives, shake up our worlds and take away our happiness. If you are a woman anywhere who has a connection to children in any way, there is going to be fear in your heart regarding them, because they are so meaningful to you. Isn't is just like the enemy to take something good, and turn it around into evil?

It's not that men do not worry, but I do think most men are far to practical to spend time worrying about the things that bog us as women down. My husband and I often reflect on the differences between he and I, how I always take things to worst possible place before I even know anything about anything.

And as a result, my peace is stolen from me, and I allow thoughts that distract me from Christ to take over my mind, and if I think on them long enough, I can in fact become quite anxious...

The enemy feeds our minds with things that "make so much sense" within that "what if" scenario and this is where our minds are taken captive.

God is good. He is our gentle shepherd we are told. He leads us, He guides us, He protects us. He makes our way known to us...and we are safe with Him. When I run away with my fear of "what if" I am not trusting my Shepherd to provide for me, to give me the discernment that He gives when action needs to be taken when things truly are bad.

As I talked with my mother in law this morning, she gave me some wise advice that I thought I should pass onto you all...to turn our "what ifs" into, "WHAT IS." Do you know what she meant by that? To line our fear up with the word of God, to pray through our fear, giving that fear over to the Lord every time it enters our mind, and suddenly, our "what if" turns into "what is." We are reassured...and our peace returns because we have now handed what is always out of control, back into the hands of the Father who cares for us and our needs.

He knows what to do with my fear. He takes it, and replaces it with peace. He provides me with Godly council, a discerning heart, and eyes that have the ability to see what really is. Rational returns, and fear diminishes greatly. It's not to say that the enemy might not throw that fear in my face (with a slightly different angle) later that day, but now I know what to look for, and how to handle it. The fact that God compares us to sheep is not really all that complimenting. Sheep are stupid. Quite stupid. They fall on the backs and they can't get up. But, the reason we are called sheep is so that truly recognize our need for our shepherd. I'm OK with being a sheep. I am. Because I know, in the end, I know nothing in comparison to what He knows...and I like to know that someone who knows it all, is in charge. Not me.

The other side of this is that when I am so wrapped up in my fear, I'm missing the calling of service the Lord would have for me...and that is why the enemy loves to distract me with fear.

If I am wrapped up in the things I fear ...I can't truly be ministering to the people He places in my path because I'm too preoccupied by my own discomfort, problems and pain.

As I have mentioned before, and what I have learned this year through the trials of my pregnancy, my comfort matters little. It used to matter everything to me! It used to be my number one focus, but slowly through my difficult circumstances, God has showed me, my peace comes from Him, He sufficient for my needs, and my needs to do not always mean, "perfectly comfortable."

He really has taken the time to teach me this, and I am humbled because when God speaks, it means something. It means everything. So I end with this: No more "what ifs." No more time should be wasted on fears. God wants my eyes and ears to be open and attentive to possible plans He has for me, ministry opportunities...chances to say, "here I am Lord, send me..."

And I will miss out on those if I am in fact so distracted by my own personal fear, discomfort and fear for my children.

So WHAT IS, is the truth of Christ. WHAT IS, is that He's guiding me, counseling me, and telling me things, if I'm listening. WHAT IS, is that I'm held, cared for and so are my children.

WHAT IS, is that HE is bigger than all that I fear.

If any of you reading this today can relate to my fear, and my "what ifs" then know this, not only are you held, you are so safe in His plans for you.