The word if carries within it’s meaning conditionality, uncertainty and great responsibility. God has given us the power of choice. If we make the decision to do something, it results in an outcome. If we choose an alternative, it results in a different outcome. The power of choice is an awesome responsibility!
There are so many uncertainties in life; as human beings our ability to choose contributes to these uncertainties. “What if …?” is the question we ask ourselves regarding past, present and future decisions. We ask it because we know that if we had done, or do something different, the outcome would be different. We consider the variables because we know our choices can have a material impact on the outcomes.
The if question also comes into play when we consider our relationship with God. Now we know that when it comes to God; His actions or His ability, there is really no uncertainty. God can do anything. While I’m sure God is aware of the word if, it’s probably not something He needs to be concerned with.
In the gospel of Mark, a man came to Jesus with a problem. He made the mistake of saying, “‘If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.’ ‘If you can?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for him who believes.'” (Mark 9:23-24) The word if is not an issue with Jesus. God can do anything! He doesn’t sit and wonder if He has enough power or ability to do something. He doesn’t need to think about whether He has enough resources to take care of your needs, or enough power to heal your sickness.
God’s if rests on our if. There are so many if statements in the Bible, that basically state God is willing; He is looking for us to choose to believe. For salvation, Romans 10:9 says “If you declare with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” For forgiveness of sin 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
While many scriptures don’t specifically use if, they imply it. Proverbs 3:5,6 says “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge the Lord in all of your ways and He will direct your path.” This scripture implies that if we trust in the Lord with all of our hearts, lean not on our own understanding, acknowledge Him in all of our ways, He will direct our path.
Jesus taught much on faith, and made it clear that there is an if involved. Matthew 17:20 says “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. “If we can believe’ Jesus is saying, all of God’s power and resources are at our disposal! God will remove every barrier in the way. There are no limits to what God can do!
Motivational speakers ask the question, “If money were no object what would you do with your life?” This if type question challenges us with the question ‘Is money a barrier to our dreams? Is anything a barrier to our dreams?’ If God calls you do to something great for Him, nothing should be a barrier. The only if should be if you can believe!
Now there are some circumstances where we do our best to believe and see no results; this is where other factors come into play. Some of these are God’s timing, His Sovereignty, the purity of our motives, the building of our character and the many varied and random events of life. There are things about the way God operates which are mysterious and difficult to understand. I’m under no illusion that life is simple and not complex!
But today, I want to focus on you and me. What can we do that is within our power? We can believe! It is our choice. I want to challenge you afresh to choose to believe God is able; you have the power to make that choice. Whatever circumstance you are faced with, you have a choice. You can choose to believe God’s report and His ability to act, or believe the circumstance.
You can choose to believe what God’s word says, or settle with the status quo. You can choose to fix your eyes on Jesus, or you can choose to focus on the wind and the waves that the storms of life can bring. You can choose to connect by faith with His unlimited power, or you can trust in your limited power to deal with the situation.
I’m telling you that as soon as you take one step of faith choosing to believe, God will come running. He will take your mustard seed of faith and move mountains. He will take your few loaves of bread and fish and multiply it to feed multitudes. No matter how bad your circumstances look today, I dare you to choose to believe God!
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