Changing “what if” to “even if”

I know you miss those campaign commercials on TV. They always said such nice things about their opponents. I know you miss getting those political flyers in the mail every day. They, too, always said such nice things about their opponents.

Okay, I don’t miss it. And I don’t miss the all the predictions of doom and gloom over the outcome of the presidential election. You know, what if Donald Trump wins? Can our country stand four more years of his presidency? But what if Kamala Harris wins? Will we be a complete socialist country by the end of her term?

Well, President Trump won, so we’ll find out if our country will survive four more years with him being in the White House. I don’t it will be the total disaster that many in the opposition are predicting. But I also don’t think, despite what many would like to believe, that all of the many problems our country is facing will be solved by Donald Trump relocating back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Donald Trump won, so now that “what if” is now going to be a reality. There is one thing true about all things that are “what if.” Simply, they haven’t happened yet, and they might not happen at all. But we don’t know, and that often scares us. “What if’s” are fueled by fear, and fear loves to fill in the gaps when we don’t know.

So, the “what if” might not happen. But it could. What do we do then? Maybe our response should be like that of three young Hebrew men many years ago. You probably heard their story back in Sunday School as a child.

The three young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, would not bow and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They would only worship their God. The king was furious and demanded that they be thrown into the fiery furnace. But the three Hebrew men’s response to the king showed their faith in a real “what if” situation.

They responded, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)

And they were thrown into the blazing furnace. But they didn’t get cremated. They didn’t get burned at all. Even their clothes didn’t smell like smoke. God had delivered them, and even the king recognized it, and gave honor to God.

Back to their response to the king. The young Hebrews believed God would deliver them. But what if God chose not to do so? Their response was that they would still honor God no matter what. Their “what if” had become an “even if.”

What if some of the fears now being promoted in some of the media actually come to pass over the next months and years? The truth is that there will be some difficult days ahead, no matter who is the president. How will you and I respond?

But more importantly, how will we respond to the “what ifs” that we may face in our personal lives? What if we face sickness and bad health? What if our finances take a hit? What if a family crisis happens? Will we respond in fear, or will we respond in faith? Like the three young men in Babylon, our response can honor God. Even in the midst of uncertain times, our “what if” fears can become “even if” faith.