“Now you are the body of Christ,
and each one of you is a part of it”
I Corinthians 12:27
What if…All is WELL?
March 31, 2020 by Pastor Kevin Van Wyhe
Oh… the imagination of a child.
Oh… the many questions a young boy or girl asks and the thoughts they express as they try to figure out the seemingly unexplored world all around them.
As a child, I had a particular interest in figuring out how and why things work. The process that I often used to figure out the answers to my many nagging questions was to begin each wondering with a thought-provoking: “What if…”
“Dad, what if I caught a fish that was too big for our net? What if you could run faster than a car? What if I won a million dollars? What if we could fly like the birds? What if we could breathe underwater? What if time stopped? What if…? What if…? What if…?”
I don’t remember this, but apparently, I was always asking these “What if…?” questions to the point of driving my parents and those around me crazy. I sort of remember not being able to turn off my brain as my imagination intersected with the discovery of reality.
For many of us today, we are struggling with that exact same challenge. We can’t turn our brains off and stop wondering about things we don’t understand or questioning what the future holds. The “What ifs” have become overpowering. Yesterday, we were told that it is very possible that over a hundred thousand people could lose their lives in the U.S. We are constantly being shown images in the news of overrun hospitals, of doctors having to make decisions on who gets a ventilator and who does not, of refrigerated semi-trailers used for storing bodies, and of situations that people are facing that just 2 months ago would seem unimaginable.
This is not an easy topic to deal with. There is no easy way to really address the “what if” questions that many of us are facing in our current circumstance. What if I can’t see my friends? What if I can’t finish school? What if the economy crashes? What if I lose my job? What if someone I know gets COVID 19? What if someone I know would die? What if I get it? What if my body can’t fight it? What if…? What if…?
It doesn’t take long and the light, happy thoughts of the carefree, easy days of just several weeks ago are replaced. Heavy, difficult and stressful moments seem to have now taken over our mental energies? “Worry” is now a word that seems to be carried heavily in our hearts. Worry about what the future holds.
In Matthew 6 we find the gospel writer sharing some incredible wisdom on how we can gain an all-important perspective on our natural tendency to worry about the future.
Matthew 6:25-34
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
When we have a relationship with the creator of the world we have nothing to worry about. When our soul finds rest in him alone, we have no need to be afraid. When we believe that the one who holds the future cares more about us than the birds of the air, then we do not need to worry about what the future holds. He has us firmly in his grip. He has our absolute best in mind no matter what situation we find ourselves in or what circumstances we are facing.
When times are easy, applying these nuggets of wisdom to our lives may seem simple. But in the midst of trials, challenges and uncertainties, that troubling feeling of worry is extremely difficult and all but impossible to escape.
Our Heavenly Father knows our every need. He wants what is best for us. Though we may not fully understand His ways and completely comprehend His will, we are called to trust his plan. We are called each day to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” and to not worry about tomorrow. To replace the “What ifs?” of tomorrow with “Whatever!” You want today. To fixate not on our own cares and concerns but to fix our eyes on the one who cares and is concerned.
When you know this incredible caretaker of our lives, you really have nothing to worry about. When you know and trust in Him, you truly have nothing to fear. Consider laying your burdens down at his feet and trust that He cares more about you than anything else in this world.
If you do not yet know and trust in the savior of souls, Jesus Christ, then a worry-free life is just a prayer away. If you have never given your heart to the Healer of hurts, there is no better day than today to invite him into your stress-filled and worry-laden life.
There’s an old hymn that’s been playing on repeat in my mind over this past week. It has been helping to wipe away the worries in my soul. The words of this familiar song have continually helped shine the light of hope on a strange and dim path that lies ahead. May this ballad of hope also meet you today, no matter what your lot is or what worries you may feel. May the assurance that your sins have been nailed to the cross and the knowledge that you bear them no more, allow your heart to sing these words over and over again: “It is well, it is well with my soul.”
PRAYER:
“It Is Well”
YOUTUBE LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY5o9mP22V0
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
In His Grip!
Pastor Kevin