What if - Part 1 — Jenn Hood

It never fails. My head hits the pillow and my mind starts embarking to places of worry and fear. Sometime it’s a short visit to what’s in my closet and what I’m going to wear the next day or what I need to pack for trip. But it can sometimes lead to a side trip of remembering that I need to do laundry and wondering if I have time or if I’ll forget anything. So I start to make a mental “To Do,” list, but that list quickly starts to incorporate other things I need to remember. Things like remembering to answer emails, to make sure I’ve finished any projects that need to be completed, or wondering if the unicorn is really the national animal of Scotland. And somehow these roads always lead me to thinking about work, my kids, my marriage or anything else that’s on my heart. The result, I’m wide awake on a redeye to the island of What If.

If you’ve ever been there, you’ll probably agree it’s not a fun place to be. I’ll be honest and tell you that if it were possible to accumulate frequent flyer miles for traveling there, I’d be in the MVP Gold Level status. Too bad the perks aren’t beneficial. Maybe you can relate.

It reminds me of something Corrie ten Boom wrote about in her book, “The Hiding Place.” She wrote how her father explains why she shouldn't worry about potential hardships. His example is, we don’t use a ticket to board a train until the moment we’re ready to get on. He goes on to say that God knows exactly when and what we need in all situations, so there’s no need to run ahead of Him.

I am so guilty of running, actually, sprinting ahead! It’s such a waste of time and energy. I get so far out that reeling me back is next to impossible. That’s truth my friends. Maybe you, like me, know that we should be trusting God with any fear, worry and even our heartaches, but it’s so hard! Jesus reminds Mary of this when she’s heartbroken from her brother Lazarus’s death.

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 - CSB

I love the assurance that comes from His word. He starts with, “I am,” and ends with, “Do you believe?” All too often I don’t remember that I can believe God for His goodness - even if things don’t feel good or hopeful.

I want to be more like Shadrach Meshach and Abednego. If you’re not familiar with them, their story is in Daniel 3. Basically King Nebuchadnezzar wants them to worship a giant gold statue. He’s furious when they refuse and threatens to put them in a fiery furnace. Their response is powerful, “If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king. But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.” Daniel 3:17-18 - CSB

Did you catch the part where they say, even if God doesn’t rescue them, they won’t serve other gods or statues? I’ll admit that facing the fear of being put into a fiery furnace sounds horrible, but I love that they know so deeply in their hearts that God will be with them no matter what they experience - even in the fire.

Our faith can’t be dependent on our wishes or our prayers and how we want things to be. Our faith needs to be dependent on God and His love for us. Because His love is eternal and unconditional.

Maybe you’re wondering how do we develop this kind of faith. It comes from growing our relationship with God. I’ll talk more about this Part 2. I hope you join me there!