Trusting God with the “If Onlys” & “Whys”

Again, I was challenged and encouraged by tonight’s reading for small groups.  Here’s a summary of the last 2 chapters.

Chapter 11 – Trusting God with the If Onlys

We must be content with whatever happens in our lives because “that which God chooses is better than what I choose.” (p. 173)

“If we are to find contentment in the midst of trial and uncertainty, we must accept our situation as being purposely allowed into our lives by a personal and loving God.”  It is sooo easy to think that God is being mean or unloving when trials come into our lives but if we trust in the character of God – His love, faithfulness, goodness, etc. – we can be confident that what He gives us is best for us.  As believers we need to be at peace with what God has given us.

Too often people focus on the problem and not the Problem Solver. (p. 176)  Focusing on the problem leads “to irrational thinking [and the loss of] all perspective.” (p. 175)  We see this displayed in the Israelites’ complaining in the wilderness when they said they wished they were back in Egypt.

If we are struggling with the “If Onlys” because of how another person has sinned against us, we MUST remember that we are responsible only for our own choices and not the choices that other people make.  (p. 178)

“We survive the packages of pain God allows in our lives by remembering who God is and what He has done in the past.” (p. 179)  We need to remember God’s character and His faithfulness!

“I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago.  I will meditate on all Your works and consider all Your might deeds.  Your ways, O God, are holy.  What god is so great as our God?  You are the God who performs miracles; You display Your power among the peoples.” (Psalm 77:11-14)

We need to “focus on God and take Him at His Word – I know I shouldn’t listen to my feelings.” (p. 180)

Here is a good formula of what to remember when encountering a trial or great trouble:

“In time of trouble, say, ‘First, He brought me here.  It is by His will I am in this strait place; in that I will rest.’  Next, ‘He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child.’  Then say, ‘He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow.’  And last, say, ‘In His good time He can bring me out again.  How and when, He knows.’  Therefore, say, ‘I am here (1) by God’s appointment, (2) in His keeping, (3) under His training, (4) for His time.’” (Andrew Murray)


Chapter 12 – Trusting God with the Whys

It can be easy to trust God when our path seems laid out straight before us and when life is easy but, “The crooked times are difficult, not just because they’re crooked but because we can’t see how God is working.” (p. 186)

“The book of Ecclesiastes encourage us to rejoice when life is easy and to trust God when it isn’t.” (p. 186)

“Consider the work of God, for who is able to straighten what He has bent?  In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider—God has made the one as well as the other so that man may not discover anything that will be after him.” (Ecclesiastes 7:13-14)

In the book of Habakkuk, the prophet asks God how long He will let violence and evil prevail.  God tells him that the Chaldeans will come and take over Judah.  Habakkuk is shocked and asks the Lord why this is to be so; he does not understand why God would counter evil with more evil.  However, in faith, Habakkuk asks why and then waits for God’s answer.  God confirms that the prophecy of the Chaldeans coming was true and commands His servant to live by faith.  “In other words, God didn’t explain Why; instead He told Habakkuk to trust Him with all his Whys Habakkuk was to trust God for what he didn’t understand, what he couldn’t see.  He was to walk in the dark with God.” (p. 192)  Habakkuk responds with these amazing words of faith:

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines, thought the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls, YET I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.  The Lord GOD is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

In faith, Habakkuk “1) told his honest doubts to God; 2) resolved to wait on God; 3) chose to trust God in the dark.” (p. 192-193)

God never promises to explain the “whys” of life to us.  Although we may not understand these “whys” we must still say…“YET WILL I TRUST THE LORD GOD.  HE IS MY STRENGTH.”

His Mercies Are New Every Morning

Lamentations 3:22-24

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.'"

Trusting God with the "What Ifs"

Today’s chapter for small groups from the book Calm My Anxious Heart was really, really good! It was a perfect reminder that it is my job to trust the Lord and not worry about tomorrow. Here’s some of the key things that really encouraged and challenged me tonight.

“Did you know there are spiritual diseases? Two of the deadliest are the “if” diseases, What if and If Only. These illnesses are fraternal twins, alike but not alike. Both lack the eyes of faith What if looks to the future and worries about what God might allow. If Only looks to the past and grumbles about what God has given. The first leads to anxiety, the second to anger.” (p. 157)

The anxiety of the “unknown” can be torture. Why? “Perhaps because waiting for an inevitable disaster is worse that the disaster itself.” (p. 158)

Jeremiah 17:5-8, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.’”
“These verses present us with a contrast between a man who trusts in himself and another who not only trusts in the Lord but also make the Lord his total trust. […] Instead of giving our anxious hearts to God, we handle the uncertainty of the What Ifs of life by employing one of the control tactics mentioned above and we ‘help God out.’ Waiting is too hard, too painful, and God just works way too slow.” (p. 159)

“When What Ifs come into our lives, we must ask ourselves if we’re going to judge God by the circumstances we don’t understand or judge the circumstances in light of the character of God.” (p. 160)

“Isaiah 41:10 declares, ‘So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’ We can only trust God when our focus is on Him and not on our circumstances.” (p. 160)

Psalm 112:7 says, “He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” “Only as our hearts ore fixed on our Sovereign, loving Lord can we be at peace in the midst of What Ifs.”

“Perhaps you have read these verses or even memorized them. But let me ask you, do you really trust God? This question has two possible meanings. The first is ‘Can you trust God?’ Is He dependable in times of adversity? But the second meaning is also critical: ‘Can you trust God?’ Do you have such a relationship with God and such a confidence in Him that you believe He is with you in your anxiety, even though you don’t see any evident of His presence and His power? […] Remember: Contentment comes from a proper relationship to God, not from a response to circumstances. Our What Ifs will either drvie us to God and faith or they will drive us to worry and dependence on self. God gives peace and contentment; worry gives illness and misery.” (p. 161)

“Neither go back in fear and misgiving to the past, nor in anxiety and forecasting to the future, but lie quiet under His hand, having no will but His.” (162)

How do we work through the “What Ifs”? First, ask “What is my worst What If?” Then ask, “Can I trust God with my worst What If? Would God still be God, would He still be Sovereign? Would He still be Love and Goodness?” Then ask “God to give [you] strength to live today, just today, to leave the fears and worries of tomorrow with Him.” (p. 164)

What is the worst we can face as believers? Death. Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Serenity Prayer:
“God grant me the serenity to accept that which I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference, living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will, so that I may be reasonable happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next.” (p. 165)