Considering ‘If’ and ‘Is’ Thinking
October 11, 2009
What do you spend your time thinking about? Do your thoughts center around the notion of “what if,” or do you contemplate and appreciate “what is?” In point of fact, the majority of our angst and stress is not created by external circumstances. To the contrary, it is created by our over-emphasis on “what if.” You have probably been down that road. “What if I don’t get the job?” “What if I don’t pass the exam?” “What if I get sick?” “What if I lose my job?” The list goes on and on, but you get the point. The problem with “what if” is that it keeps us from focusing on “what is.” The opposite perspective to the ones listed above is that the person has a chance to get the job, the possibility of passing the exam, is presently healthy, and is employed! Get this, West Broad and friends: you cannot control the future, but you can control yourself. And that begins with right thinking. Right thinking is confident. It is powerful. It is spiritual. It is from God (Psa. 37:4-5; 2 Tim. 1:7). I will share how this affects me personally as I lead a church plant in downtown Richmond. I could think, “What if the church does not grow?” Instead I think, “Look how the church has grown.” I could imagine, “What if the community fails to respond?” Instead I celebrate by musing, “Look how the community has responded.” I could nervously question, “What if the members fail to mature and participate?” Instead I take joy in the brothers and sisters who are maturing and participating — even as I work to encourage the ones who are not. And guess what? Thinking thoughts of “what is” is a lot more fun than abiding in the doldrums of “what if!” So, what does all this mean to you today? As Jessie Jackson reminds us, “your attitude determines your altitude.” The question is, how high are you willing to fly? Please think about it! –JLNJR (Resource: Ebony Magazine, June 2009, 34)
