For those of you who know me or have ever read a post on this blog before know my stance on this but I wonder about yours. What if today you happened upon this blog and it was written just for you, what if God wants to show you that the "What Ifs" that are swirling around in your mind right now are an invitation from him to search and see for yourself...what if?
There are at least 200 questions I could list off the top of my head that I ask myself often. Questions full of doubt and uncertainty, and then I switch gears and have the questions that fill me with hope and wonder. What if God isn't who he says he is...but what if he is?
I am doing a Bible study that recently challenged us to look at conditional faith, for example: I will be a Christian as long as XY&Z do not happen or I will follow Jesus as long as things go as planned or if Jesus really loved me he would have never let ___________happen. It was such an eye opener. I have looked a "conditional love" before but never applied that to "conditional faith", oh how this has changed some things for me.
Before we move further let me ask you something, Are you saved? I'm smiling sitting here typing this thinking about how many of you are answering YES! Praise God and hang in here with me, what about those of you who aren't sure or flat out said no? My question to both of you is, Why? Why is it so important to you that you are saved, and why is it not important to those of you who aren't? Something for us to really ponder on, isn't it? Maybe this would be a good time for us to take a few minutes before reading further and give this question our full attention.
Why am I saved? Because God saved me. You may wonder how I felt about this question when it was asked to me 10 years ago. I'll be honest, it just wasn't that important to me. I mean being a good person and wanting to go to heaven vs. hell seemed to strike a cord within me but the effort that it required seemed to water down the reality of the value that being a Christian held. Funny how I seem to choose the hard way to learn everything.
What if you read this today and it doesn't change a single thing about the way you feel. Maybe you agree with this new age society that we are ultimately our own god and that our destiny is our own. Or maybe you are analytical and think it's more practical to take on the scientific views on creation and evolution. Or perhaps you turn on the news and take one good look at this world and think, "Why would I ever serve a God that would allow all of this to happen"? Are believers really foolish and naive or is there something intriguing there that you just can't put your finger on.
Would go with me here for a second a let me suggest something? What if you have been influenced and lied to by your one true enemy and mislead into a sea of doubt and watered down importance over Jesus. And then what if I could promise you that not just eventually but certainly it will take you under, completely under...what if?
If God really is who he says he is then we can be certain that when we breathe our last breath here on this earth we will meet our Maker, our Judge (James 4:12). Let me just suggest that this would not be the time that you would want your "What Ifs" to be "Oh no's" because then my friend, it is too late.
I want so badly for you to know His love the way I do. I could write pages and pages full of the life that was breathed into me. I could share such intricate stories of my walk with Him to you, and I do in part, but what I want you to think about is what that would look like for you. Yes, I know at first that seems odd but it is not, odd would be living without it, actually odd would not even accurately describe what it would be like to live without it, desolation may come close.
You see for so long I wasn't sure that God really was who he said he was, actually I didn't really even know who it was that he was claiming to be. Then one day I faced a fork in the road, crossroads that would change my future, the future of my decreasing tomorrow and in that moment I met Him. Standing there with the weight of my future and the heaviness of my past, I felt so alone, so empty...then there Jesus was.
So do you believe me or do you think that I was just lucky or that good to have chosen the right path?
Here's the deal, We have to have faith without conditions. We then have to stand firm in our faith and then do the hardest thing that I personally have ever been faced with, at all costs, we have to believe it.
Trust me, there are times that I still have doubt and I always thank God for that because buried in the depth of that doubt lies the answer and the balm to my wounds. For me my "What Ifs" are turned to "I believe", why you ask...because I do. I can tell you that there are still many things in life that I face uncertainty over, but to ask me whether or not I believe in God & if I know Jesus will never be one of them. This personal relationship isn't some made up, make believe, put all you eggs in one basket and hope for the best kind of story. It is surrendering you heart and your life to the one who created you, it's about learning to love with the love that Christ has given you and it is about living free.
What would our churches, our communities and our Nation look like if we got off of the fence and were just honest with God over our doubts and fears? What if our doubt of who He is and wondering if He is real was given over to believing that He is. And not just believing it but seeking Him to find out. Wouldn't we see a generation rising up to take its place for the good and not evil? Wouldn't we love one another in a way that every life has meaning and wouldn't we take seriously the part we are to play here and embrace our calling with a whole new vision? What if my friend...what if...
I pray that those of you who read these words will seek Jesus today in a way like never before. There is just nothing more important. I am tempted to wait to post this to edit it and add some Scripture, but I feel too much of an urgency that someone out there needs to read this.
I promise you that your life will never be the same if you commit it to Jesus. I know a few of you want to run after hearing that but it's the truth. There are so many things that change within you, for instance I will never look at the trees and nature the same, nor will I ever be able to see the hurting without a part of my heart hurting with them. My eyes have been opened to new things, my spirit recognizes the importance of grace and love, even during those times when my flesh feels differently.
A friend posted a chorus of one of my favorite songs and I went to my phone and played it at least 3 times after I read the chorus. You see I am sitting here in the hospital waiting for my grandmother to get out of surgery. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't let my fear get the best of me, after all it was just this time last year that we lost my Papa. But after I listened to the words I'm about type I felt the peace of His love and wisdom all around me.
Already all I need, Christy Nockels
Asking where You are, Lord,
Wondering where you've been
Is like standing in a hurricane, trying to find the wind
And hoping for Your mercy to meet me where I am
Is forgetting that Your thoughts for me outnumber the sand
You filled the sun with morning light
You bud the moon to lead the night
You clothe the Lillie's bright and beautiful
You're already all I need
Already everything that I could hope for
you're already all I need
You've already set me free
already making me more like You
You're already all I need
Jesus
Already all I need
Walking through this life without your freedom in my heart
Is like holding on to shackles that You have torn apart
So remind me of Your promises and all that You have done
In this world I will have trouble
But you have overcome
And every gift that I receive You determine just for me
But nothing I desire compares to You...
How I pray that you seek Him, I'm almost jealous because I want to hear your stories.
Will Jesus meet you right where you are today? Will He change your life and build your core so full of love and faith that life as you knew it will never be the same? Yes He will, and once you know him you would lay it all down on the line just to know Him more.
He loves you so much, seek Him...
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