Even If
Something I heard a lot growing up is “IF is the biggest little word in the dictionary.” I guess at the time I really didn’t understand it, I probably just thought it was funny. But as an adult, as someone who’s battled cancer twice, watched my husband almost die, and raise a child with severe hearing loss, I understand how much power that little word has…either for the good or the bad.
When we struggle, we sometimes fall into the “what if” trap…what if I had gone to the doctor sooner, what if I had a different career, what if I had taken that call from my dad? Pastor preached on this a long time ago…the what if path never ends; one ‘what if’ just leads to another. What’s done is done and we can’t reverse the decisions or actions of our past, but we do have control of how we move forward.
There is a new song on the radio by Rend Collective called “Hallelujah Anyway.” It reminded me a lot of the life of Job, who suffered a LOT! He lost all his wealth and children in one day, yet his response was “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21) In the song, the band sings “even if daylight never dawns, even if my breakthrough never comes, even if my dreams fall to the ground… Hallelujah anyway! That’s Job!! When his crops and cattle died, when his children were crushed in the collapse of their home, Job didn’t say “WHAT IF I had done this, or WHAT IF I had done that?” No, he said “EVEN IF” these bad things happen, I’m going to trust God and keep on praising Him anyway. In chapter 2, vs. 9 we find Job’s wife telling him to curse God and die! How ‘bout that for a supportive spouse?!? But Job’s response to her in vs. 10 “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” If you read the whole story, you know God is not the one who sent the trouble, but He did allow it, proving to Satan that Job was exactly the kind of man He knew him to be, blameless and upright. (vs. 3) Job is 42 chapters long, but in the end, vs. 10 says “the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.” THAT is the God we serve!
Do you see it? “What if” or “Even if,” there’s a BIG difference in those 6 little letters. It’s all about perspective…how we interpret all that is happening to us and around us. We can choose to go down the “what if” path that leads to anger, guilt, shame and discouragement, or we can adopt the “even if” plan of Job and decide that no matter what happens in this life, God is in control and we’re gonna sing a Hallelujah anyway!