TR Hartley

“What if…”

Those two little words have crushed so many people in doubt and insecurity, in anxiety and in fear.

“What if I never fully get past this?”
“What if she gets sick?”
“What if he never comes to faith?”
“What if this mole is cancer?”
“What if this is as good as it’ll ever get?”

Ad nauseum.

There’s a lot that we can, and often do, worry about. Or fret about. Or fear over. We stew, and obsess, and fixate, and find ourselves anxious and exhausted. And if you allow yourself time to think about it, you could probably add a few new, creative items to your own personal list of worries and fears.

Congrats?

“What if” will kill you if you let it. Apart from God, the only solution to “What if” questions is to love less. (IE, If I am not close to my family, their rejection of me, or passing away, won’t hurt as much.) You can avoid some pain by walling yourself off from others. But that seems cold, and lonely.

Meanwhile, the New Testament seems to present a victorious inner life as normative. Is that meant to be an unsustainable ideal, a distant horizon to press towards but never reach?

I don’t think so. I think the sort of inner peace that the New Testament promises is a reality that is available to all of God’s people.

Let me give you another phrase, one that changed my life.

“Even if…”

Oooh, baby. Can you see the freedom in those words?

“What if” statements don’t have a good solution. But “Even if” let’s us have freedom and peace to love deeply. Let’s look at our earlier “What if” statements, and replace them with “Even if” statements.

“Even if I never fully get past this, Christ will still offer me forgiveness as I confess to Him.”

1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

“Even if she gets sick, God has promised to comfort those who mourn, so I know He’ll be there for me.”

Matthew 5:4: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“Even if he never comes to faith, God has promised to wipe away every tear for His people.”

Revelation 21:4: He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

“Even if this mole is cancer, death has lost it’s sting!”

1 Corinthians 15:55-57: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Even if this is as good as this life will ever get, I’ve read the end of the Book. I know what God has in store for His people.”

Revelation 21:1-4: Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.’ ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Do you see it?

The only solution to “What if” statements without God is to love less, as we explored above. But “Even if” statements give us the freedom and peace to love deeply.

It’s not that life won’t hit you hard. Jesus promised the opposite, actually. In John 16:33, Jesus says: “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.“

In Christ, God has promised that all things will be redeemed for His people. He WILL overcome the world, and its brokenness.

Everything. Every broken place. The worst memories and moments. The grief and the loneliness, the pain and the shame.

God has promised that He will work all things for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

A Practical Path to Peace

So, how do we take this tool and use it? If “even if” thinking can bring you to the peace of God, how do we employ it?

First, let’s make sure we understand: This isn’t just about being optimistic. This is not about having a “glass is half-full” perspective.

This is taking the lows, griefs, pains, and fears of life in one hand, and the promises of God in the other hand, and deciding that God is good, God is sufficient, and He will redeem all things, so I can be steadfast today.

I am choosing to trust, and to worship, and to rejoice. I’m not just sticking my head in the sand, ignoring my problems. I am looking at my problems AND at the character of God, and saying His goodness far outweighs my problems.

And from that place, you will find peace, hope, and joy.