In Genesis chapter 1:1-3 God said: “Go, get up from your land and when you do, I will make you a great nation, I will bless those who bless you and in you all the families of the earth will be gathered”. to be hurt”.
Have you ever thought about ‘what if’? What if Abraham hadn’t left? What could have happened?
Many people came from Abraham’s lineage: Moses, King David, even Jesus Christ. If Abraham had not obeyed God’s command, would any of these people exist?
Maybe they would have, but we can’t be sure. Everyone knows the basics of science. It takes a certain egg and a certain sperm to produce a certain child. Have you ever thought about your own creation? Have. At one point my mother was married to a man and after seven years together they still had no children. Then my mother had an affair with an older man who was married to someone else and she conceived in a few “dates”. The mother’s husband had children with his new wife after they separated, and she also had two more of her own. Why didn’t they have children together? Why was it necessary for my married biological father and married mother to conceive me? Because it was the right egg and sperm for my spirit to inhabit my body.
After my biological father abandoned my mother, she married another man. She was a very angry and abusive person. She tried to bury her pain and her pain by horribly mistreating my mother and drinking strong liquor. He wasn’t the type of person who would ever admit that he needed someone or something, and unfortunately that man came to be known as my dad. He raised me from the age of two until my first marriage at 18.
When I was in my early 20s I became a Christian and one of the first things I started doing was praying for my family to give their lives to Christ. I knew my dad was hard-hearted and only wanted religion on his terms; I certainly had no idea what a relationship with Jesus Christ would be like. I was the Christian anchor that held my family in place.
One day, after being a Christian for a few years, I got tired of the lifestyle. At that point, my life was taking a turn for the worse. I began to think, ‘If life is so hard being a Christian, it couldn’t be much harder not to be. Maybe turning away from God would give me some peace. Then I heard God in my heart, “what about your dad? If you stop serving God, who is going to be the one to pray for him to become a Christian?” I stopped short. I thought ‘what if’. What if I stop serving God and then everyone in this family is truly lost? It’s one thing for me to think about going to hell, but quite another to take a whole group of people with me.
Needless to say, I did not stop serving God and almost 40 years later I am more passionate than ever about my walk with Christ. It took me 20 years to pray for my dad and hear that voice say “your dad will go to heaven, but it will be a death bed experience.” Eventually he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and at the end of his journey he gave his life to Christ. What would have happened if I had turned away from serving God in my early days of struggle and doubt? I totally shudder to think where I would be personally, but also where my family would have ended up. My mother also passed away and like my father, she converted to Christianity at the end of his life. My brother also accepted Christ and I continue to actively pray for my sister and her family.
Sometimes we are asked to do things that we just don’t want to do. We may be called to a ministry that is similar to someone who is already successful. What they are doing seems so glamorous compared to what they have asked you to do. They have arrived, they are already living the life you think you are called to live… So how did they get there and you are swimming in circles? I look at women ministers who have been very successful and doing well with their ministries and sometimes I get frustrated because I don’t want to do the work they did to get there. I often believe that God blessed them because they must be doing something right, and in turn, I must be doing something wrong. But that’s not all… It’s work. No matter how you slice it, it’s work. It may seem glamorous when they talk about the places they travel to, their big income, nice clothes, and money to live a good life, but what if they hadn’t obeyed God? What if they hadn’t done what He told them to do? Many of us would have missed out on tremendous teachings, preaching, and life-changing experiences if we had not followed God’s gentle call on our hearts.
I could sit down and list all the things that could have happened if I hadn’t obeyed. My “What If” list would be long and decidedly dark. I am currently at another ‘what if’ fork in the road: I am called to be a writer/author/international seminary speaker with some preaching scattered here and there. But there is a price to pay… I have a full-time job. I go to work at about 7:30am every day, have an hour for lunch, and then I’m home by 5:30pm, 5 days a week. I also work on Saturdays to earn some extra money for the household, because our income is limited and the extra money on Saturdays comes in handy.
I’m tired when I get home and have almost no days off. When I’m not working my day job on Saturdays, I’m grocery shopping and trying to spend quality time with my husband. On Sunday we go to our Sunday morning church service and then work on another service thereafter. I don’t know about you, but I’m an introvert. I can be outgoing to the point where people actually think that’s the real me, yet I have to have time to regroup and recharge. If I haven’t recharged, I’m angry and grumpy and not very good company for anyone. This life situation gives me many excuses as to why I cannot do what God has asked me to do.
The fact that God has not supernaturally changed our financial situation does not allow me to use these excuses. I have shirked what I have been called to do for far too many years. As I continue to age, it eventually shrinks to the limit.
What about you? What are you going to do with your ‘what if’ moment? You can’t say you don’t have one, because we all do. We all have those moments when we feel a stirring in our hearts, but we’re not sure if we want to follow that command or not. Don’t let your “what if” moment cause you to miss out on what is possibly the best thing you’ll ever get. I’m glad I didn’t give up on mine!