What If?

2020 has been the kind of year that has left many of us on the edge of our seats.  From senseless killings of black men and women by police, to a worldwide pandemic, to a crazy political climate, to a tropical storm AND a hurricane barreling towards the United States at the same time.  A strange year indeed.  In the midst of all the upheaval, Wednesday night REfresh Bible has been a welcome port from the catastrophes that have befallen the world.

Wednesday night dropped us into Psalm 124.  The entire psalm.  Not just a piece of it.  Psalms are songs that the Hebrews sang in praise to our God.  When they looked back over their lives and reflected on the goodness of the Lord, the psalms would be a sweet sound that exited their lips.  A song bubbling up from inside them that they could not contain.  King David begins the psalm by saying, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.” 

Man, listen.  Go to any good old school church.  When they get to singing “if it HAD…NOT…BEEEEN…for the LORD…on my side, tell me where would I be…where would I be?”, the whole church gets to rocking.  You can feel that in your bones.  If God has done anything for you at all, you are immediately touched by the reality of those words.

David was intimately acquainted with the goodness of the Lord.  He ponders the “what ifs” when he reflects on the hard times that he has encountered.  He quickly comes to the conclusion that if God had not been there to fight his battles, he would have been consumed by every trial that came against him.  His soul would have been overtaken by the cares of this world.  His reflection on God’s grace prompts him to thank God for blocking the enemy.  His reflection makes him grateful that the what ifs did not become his reality.

I’m grateful for this reminder in the midst of a tumultuous year.  Life has certainly been full of snares, but what if God had completely removed Himself from my life?  What if His grace was not sufficient?  What if He ever let the cares of this world overtake me?  Although it has been tough, I am assured that God’s hand is ever-present.  God’s grace covered David when David was obedient AND when David stepped out of line.  God’s grace covers me too.  The weapons form but they will not prosper.  The snare of the enemy is broken, and we will escape.  No ifs are necessary. #wepreach