What If?

By Cheri Bunch
“What ifs” wear me out and wear me down. They steal my joy and my hope. Thoughts of “what ifs” want to control my life. It is totally up to me whether they have their way with me or not. The Lord gives me the authority to say “NO” to them, but I don’t have to. I can welcome “What If” thoughts into my mind, entertain them, let them multiply, and allow them to make me miserable.

What-if thoughts are prudent with their timing knocking at the door of my mind:

When my child is on his motorcycle and is late returning home.

When I have a writing assignment due and the words will not come.

When my child is sick, fighting a high fever.

When the money is short and the month is long.

When I don’t know what to fix for dinner!

And the list goes on and on into oblivion!

Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 10:5 empower me. “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (NASB).

The Message says it this way, “We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.”

Do what-if thoughts try to take over your life and steal your hope? Join me in asking the Lord to make you aware of them, and ask Him for the grace to help you take them captive at the door of your mind. We have authority, friend, to take those thoughts captive before they destroy our hope and faith. What do you say, let’s pull out our “God-tools” and get busy “smashing”!