“What if?” Two words that can haunt you until the day you die. It’s the one question we all ask at some point. What if I had taken that job? What if I had quit my job and started my own business? What if I had gone to college and received my degree? What if I had one more chance to tell him/her how I really felt? What if………….[you fill in the blank]? It’s a miserable existence. I know because I have a few “what if’s” I battle with from time to time. Why do we do it to ourselves? Why do we even give a place for “what if” in our lives? Look around you. There are many involved in businesses and industry ventures that are highly successful. Their success started with an idea and, in many cases, little else. What makes any of us different from those people. Absolutely nothing– except a willingness to take a chance. Have you ever considered those fleeting ideas may be a “God” thing? We waste time crying out, “Get thee behind me, Satan!” God turns around and asks, “What did you call me?” We like to blame those harebrained ideas on bad pizza or a late-night dose of Nyquil. Have you considered it may be God setting you up for something great?

So what’s holding you/us back? I can sum it up in one word. Fear. Fear is a powerful tool of the devil. If he can strike fear in our hearts he can prevent us from doing things that could lead to greatness for the kingdom. Fear leads to abortions. I know, that was a strong statement-but it’s true, both figuratively and literally. We find ourselves asking, “What can one man/woman do? I can’t do something like that by myself” To answer that question I refer you to the lives of only two biblical characters. Moses and David. One was a murderer with self-esteem issues. The other, an alleged illegitimate child and fornicator. What did they have in common with each other? A desire to serve God. Was it easy for either of them. No. Was their faith and trust in God tested? Most assuredly and, no doubt, on multiple occasions! What happened when they made mistakes? They took the valuable lessons learned, dusted themselves off, and kept moving forward. Failure didn’t affect their desire to move away from their goal. After all, they had nothing to lose. If God promised it, the weight and results hinged on His name. If God promises something He is faithful to see it through. The question remains, will we trust Him even when it doesn’t seem like it will ever happen? Solomon reminds us in Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily!  This is your last and only chance at it, for there’s neither work to do nor thoughts to think in the company of the dead, where you’re most certainly headed.”  What do you have to lose?  Regret.  Regret is the only thing you have to lose.  And, personally, I’d be glad to get rid of that.

Final thoughts and encouragement: Rather than focusing on what could go wrong, focus on what could go RIGHT! Again, if God has promised it- the fulfillment of that promise rests on His shoulders. Let God do the heavy lifting. You simply walk through the doors he opens. Sometimes we over analyze things and abort our promise before it ever has a chance to come into fruition. Stop thinking so hard. Even if you lose you haven’t really lost. You’ve just found out what NOT to do next time.