IF

I don’t know if there is a smaller word in the English vocabulary/language that has more power than the word “if”. The entire meaning of a sentence or even the whole book can hinge on this one small two-letter word. This is a word that is used as a conjunction mostly, but also as a noun occasionally. It’s sort of a “connector” word, meaning that it connects different parts of a sentence or an idea. I like to think of it as a pivot word. There are a few other “hinge words” (and, but, however and because) that also change things dramatically.

Jeremiah proclaims to God’s people that they were given direction when God and his direction and blessing was theirs IF they followed His commands. Check this out….

⁴ the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.’ I said, ‘Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. ⁵ Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’—the land you possess today.”

I answered, “Amen, Lord.”(Jeremiah 11:4-5 NLT)

I wonder just how many times I use this tiny word each day.

I know that so many things in everyday life depend upon other things to happen.

The Lord wants my obedience MORE than my excuses.

I must obey Him and follow Him with no “ifs, ands or buts”. He wants my deepest commitment and my loyal obedience without conditions.

I have some amazing excuses as to why I sometimes choose my own way, but in light of what the Lord has done for me, these excuses are embarrassing. I am a self-centered jerk at times and I want what I want WHEN I want it without regard of what God wants or anyone else for that matter. I can become momentarily blinded by my selfish wants and whims.

When Jesus came, He diffused the power of the “if”. He ushered in the Grace and Mercy of God. It is not ok to simply ignore the Lord’s call upon my life, but Grace has sure covered me many times when I stumbled and fell spiritually. I want the Lord to have complete and uninhibited access to my heart. I want Him to help me identify the shards of selfishness that still exist in me and help me eradicate it from my heart. I wish my selfish sins and desires would never show their ugly head again, but the enemy never gives up and I must never stop fighting Him. He wants to steal, kill and destroy my faith in God “IF” I will allow.  God’s Presence in me helps me push past all the “ifs, ands and buts” that the enemy throws at me.

Pressing On!

Dwayne