Flip from Fear to Faith in Two Words

You’ve heard of the saying, “You are what you think.” It’s true, isn’t it?!

What do you think about all day long? There are two kinds of thinkers:

Are you a “what if” thinker or are you a “God if” thinker?

“What if…” thinkers try to figure everything out on their own. When we try to think of all of the bad things that could happen, then we hope that we can figure out a way to prevent the negative outcome.

However, this “what if” strategy breeds two problems. First, entertaining all of those negative thoughts often leaves out God’s sovereignty and second, all of that negative thinking robs you of God’s peace. Filling our mind with negative thoughts never leads to a positive outcome.

For years, I lived by “what if…” thinking. As soon as I woke up in the morning, I purposefully tried to think of everything that could go wrong. While I could come up with some solutions, there were still too many circumstances out of my control – and my anxiety spun out of control, too.

Can you relate?

“What if” thinking pretends to be productive, but in the end, it robs us of peace.

In Matthew 26:39-46, Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane for God to stop the horror that was to come. His time of death was near. Jesus’ stress was so great that one scriptural author wrote that his sweat was like drops of blood. My friend, if you’re going through a hard time, Jesus understands!

You know what Jesus did? Rather than pray “what if,” Jesus began each of his three prayers with “My Father, if” instead. Instead of imagining all of the worst case scenarios, Jesus leaned into “God, if” thinking and prioritized on inviting God’s presence into Jesus’ present circumstances.

When we face problems, we need God’s peace more than we need solutions. When we allow God’s peace into our problems, our fears can fade and we often find that we can handle our problems better.

Here’s the takeaway on this: You can flip from fear to faith by switching from “what if” to “God, if.”

“God, if…” thinkers see God in every circumstance. They know that problems will happen but they don’t overthink the problem, they focus on God’s power and promises. So it’s not, “What if my car breaks down, rather they think, “Okay, God, if my car breaks down, I trust that You will provide a solution.”

JOIN THE CONVERSATION TODAY:  In what situation do you need to flip from “What if” to “God, if” today? Share below and encourage others!

PRAYER: God, I need to focus on you instead of what’s going on around me. I choose to trust that you are with me and for me no matter what I am facing today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.