Changing our What Ifs into Even Ifs

I found this on changing our "what ifs" into "even ifs" really helpful. It is a radically different way to think and as the author says, liberating.

Vaneetha Rendall Risner:

In the Bible, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not guaranteed deliverance. Just before Nebuchadnezzar delivered them to the fire, they offered some of the most courageous words ever spoken. “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it. . . . But even if he does not, we want you to know . . . that we will not serve your gods” (Dan. 3:17–18).

Those three young men faced the fire without fear because they knew that no matter the outcome, it would ultimately be for their good and God’s glory. They did not ask what if the worst happened. They were satisfied knowing that even if the worst happened, God would take care of them.

Even if. Those two simple words can take the fear out of life. Replacing “what if ” with “even if ” in our mental vocabulary is one of the most liberating exchanges we can ever make. We trade our irrational fears of an uncertain future for the loving assurance of an unchanging God. We see that even if the very worst happens, God will carry us. He will still be good. And he will never leave us.

At the end of Habakkuk, we see another beautiful picture of even-if. Habakkuk wants deliverance for his people and pleads with God to save them. But he closes his book with an exquisite even-if.

Even if the fig tree does not bloom and the vines have no grapes, even if the olive tree fails to produce and the fields yield no food, even if the sheep pen is empty and the stalls have no cattle— even then, I will be happy with the Lord. I will truly find joy in God, who saves me. (Hab. 3:17–18)