For the most part, I’m a forward-looking person. The “if-only’s” might enter my mind for a brief moment, but I am grateful that it is most often only a brief and fleeting moment. Thankfully, I am one that tends to recognize that while we can learn from history, we cannot change it.

The “what-if’s,” however, are another story.

We all have those moments, they just vary in their appearance based on the present window through which we are looking. “What if there is no cure?” “What if I never _____?” “What if I have to _____?” “What if he _____?” “What if she _____?” “What if I _____?”

If one of those made you stop and silently gasp or if you were able to fill in any of the blanks, you are probably living through a “what-if,” or more specifically, a fear, right at this moment. I won’t tell you which one made me gasp silently as I typed it.

Like I said, we all have those moments.

Yet I realize this morning that I must not fear or be anxious about anything. Anything. Not because of some zen-like mantra I’m repeating from the balcony where I’m watching the sunrise as I’m typing this, but because it is a command, yes, a command, from God. I read Philippians 4:6 this morning in the New Living Translation (it’s probably more familiar to you in the KJV or NASB, but this wording gave it some simple, but fresh, clarity):

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” 

Now comes the extra really-cool part that I just had to share! Forgive me for making this post another lengthy one, but I have a “filled-up-with-happy” heart this morning.

After reading this verse, I flipped over to my “assigned” reading in Exodus 13. (“Assigned” in the little morning devotional book I use as I begin my God-and-I-Time.) I read verses 17-22:

“When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear to do this. He said, “God will certainly come to help you. When he does, you must take my bones with you from this place.” The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.”

So often I’ve read that passage from Exodus and focused on the fire by night and the pillar by day—and for good reason! That’s amazing. He never left them wondering about where to go!

But the part that hit me this morning was that God not only led them, but on their behalf He even considered the “what-if” that they would undoubtedly face: “‘If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.”

As I read that, I realized I don’t need to gasp or fill in the blanks in the paragraph of questions listed above. I don’t have to fret over the what-if’s because God’s already got those covered! He thinks of EVERYTHING!

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Thank you for taking time to read today’s post. Do have a favorite verse you turn to when the “what-if’s” begin to enter your thoughts?