The Case of the What If's, Sam. I. Am.

This time of year brings many uncertainties for me. Do I really need to study that? I wonder what my grade will be if I make __? Does Santa really exist? So many things to think about.

The lame thing about thinking about things so much is that your old familiar friend, Worry, joins in the party. Worry is SUCH as Karen.

My Pappy always says "Worrying is like sitting on a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere." Very wise words. So what's my point?

Can you guess what one phrase is the most destructible but also the most inspirational?

What if.

What flippin if. What if I faint in the middle of my performance and everyone sees? What if I stub my toe on the sidewalk and then have to miss class because I have to go by the health center and then it's really embarrassing? (maybe that was just me). What if I make a 100 and I'm awesome? <-- see, what if CAN be positive. If you choose to make it.

Guess where the destructible side of what if came from....did you guess Genesis? You're right. The fall of man...blah blah apples..blah...stupid boys...blah, yeah. But no really, think about it. Adam and Eve were in a perfect, PERFECT place that God had specifically designed for them and spent time and thought creating for the

m. But then Eve goes and starts saying "What if there is something better for me than God has for me? What if I can make that better thing happen for myself, without God?"

Eh...awkward.

Noah and the ark: "What if people think I'm crazy?"

Moses: "What if I put these people in danger, my family in danger, while trying to save them?"

Israelites: "What if God doesn't save us, like he promised?"

Jesus's killers: "What if he IS God's son?"

You: "What if God doesn't love me and has

forgotten about me?"

You: "What if God doesn't provide for me and leaves me here alone?"

You: "What if this storm overtakes me and destroys me? What if God doesn't hear me?"

You: "What if God doesn't see my dreams and I never live them out?"

God: "What if you just trust me?"

In the equation of What If the only thing that counteracts what a What If does to you is I Am.

What If < I. Am.

When you are trudging around your room, stress

ed out and thinking "What if...." God is gently whispering "My Love, I Am".

But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD, I say, "You are my God. My times are in Your hand..."-- Ps. 31:14-15a

Just look at the story of Job. The worst possible things that could happen to someone, ALL happened to him. But yet, God was faithful. God took care of him. And he most certainly will take care of you.

The flip side of a What If is dreaming. Dreaming with a What If. What if you accomplish your dreams and do so in God's timing and alongside of His will for your life? What if God is just waiting for you to lay down your What If's to Him?

God's got a box with your name on it (which he made with a label maker of course) and it's called the What If box. Part of the box holds your worry-filled What If's and part of the box holds your What If dreams. The best part of the box is that God holds it. Stop walking around with pockets filled with What If's, surrender them to

the Creator who holds your What If's. Be audacious with your faith.

"Audacity isn't the absence of uncertainty and ambiguity. Audacity is believing that God's promise is bigger than my perhaps (what if)." - Steven Furtick, Sun Stand Still.