The Problem With "What if"

The other day I was praying about a situation and realized I'd been holding on to some "worry poison" as I like to call it.  Yep, I drank the poison which found a cozy little spot in my body to call home gradually oozing out its nastiness over time.  I know it doesn't make for a pretty picture but sometimes the truth isn't pretty.  Worry is poison and it does damage to, not only your spirit, but your body as well.

The particular worry poison I took this time came in the form of a "What if?" pill.  There I was again worrying about the future.  You've been there too, haven't you?  "What if this happens?"  What if I make a mistake?"

The logical person inside of me says: "Duh! It's dumb to worry about things that may not even happen."  Sadly, my body isn't always controlled by that logical person.  Instead the emotional person inside of me says "Ooh! Let's go on a roller coaster ride."  (Only it turns out there are no safety harnesses installed.)  I fall for this trick every time.   

As I was praying something profound occurred to me.  (True - it actually did.)  I pictured making my decision and then what would happen if a year down the road I discovered it was a mistake? What then? Would I pull that worry poison out of my body, display it before God and say "See, I was right to hold onto this!  You wanted me to let go of my fears but I knew better.  I knew I'd need this eventually. My fear in this has been completely justified."

Then I thought, what does this worry poison really gain me?  If my decision turns out not to be a mistake, then poison is taking up a place in my body that could be filled with Godly things (like love, joy, peace...).  And if the decision turns out to be a mistake?  Does it help me to be right?  Does it make the mistake go away?  Does it help to tell God "I told you so!"?  Does it make me more receptive to God's grace? No, it doesn't do anything for me but allow me some righteous (or unrighteous) indignation.

My take-away is this:  Do your best to make wise decisions.  Pray about them before you make them.  But once you make your decision, commit to it, and go forward in faith.  Believe firmly that no matter what happens, God is with you and will always be with you even if things don't turn out like you thought.  Holding on to the worry poison only trains your eyes to look for the failures instead of seeing how God graciously gets you through what is, in effect, the bumpy road called life. There's no upside to worry.  Free yourself and get rid of it.