"If"

Here is an awesome idea: don't run your life by "if". 

For years, I ran my life, my family, my ministry, and my relationships with this disgusting word. 

I was having a conversation with my good buddy Lenny, and he said something that stirred up my heart (what I would call the Holy Spirit speaking). He was talking about the context of small groups and about him co-leading one. He said that if people signed up he would go along with it.

Now he had said something very legitimate. There was no reason for me to be upset with what he said, especially because the leaders of America, businesses, and churches all around have been sneaking in this lazy form of dissolved hope. I told him, not because I was putting him down, but because I LIVED that very lie, that using "if" is another way of saying, "somebody else needs to step up."

We say things like, "If the economy was better" or "If I had a better job" or "If my husband/wife/family was more supportive" or "If I get this promotion" or "If people show up" or "If things go according to plan" or "If my pastor wasn't such a big..." (you get the idea).

The fact is that when we use "if" instead of "even if" or "when", we put God in a position that He needs to move without us giving any sort of real commitment. We tell God He needs to jump first or we aren't going to jump at all.

Let me propose this. Next time you want to qualify or prohibit something awesome in your life relying on the "if" that you place on it, go ahead and replace the word "if" with "even if it doesn't work out" or "when this happens." I don't mean a false sense of hope, because there are things that we need to be dependent on Jesus and other people for. But try this:

"When I get that promotion I will be able to afford to move, and even if I don't, I will do everything in my power to improve my situation." You can still move forward when the world is against you. You will need to rely on God for many things, but that does not mean you cannot change and grow in the meantime.

Is this a self-sufficient, self-help message? No. We need Jesus. We need other people. We do need certain circumstances to happen for things to go our way. But when we use "if" I really believe we give up before it even starts. We need to have the courage to step out in faith and DO what we were called to do, not make excuses as to why it isn't going to work.

Sorry for getting all Joel Osteen on you. But we can afford to be positive every once in a while! Trust in God. Listen to what He says - then DO IT!

Comments

[Aaron Berrios]

Powerful message Pastor. So simple, yet self-affirming.

[Dan O'Leary]

Thank you Guru. I look forward to our conversations.

[Specklesofpaint]

in the words of Oprah: 'this has been an "ah ha" moment" for me!

[custom essays]

Plagiarism can be avoided. Mastering the different citation styles such as APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, etc. can help prevent the occurrence of plagiarism. Citation styles Mastering also help you write an essay test or even an effective research paper.