Get Beyond The 'IF'

I'll start with a story:

There was a young boy that was possessed. No one was able to help this young boy. The priests tried and failed, and even the disciples weren't able to lift the demons out of the boy. The father was in a panic, not knowing what to do. Then he saw Jesus coming. He ran to Jesus, and asked him to help his son. He would be so grateful 'IF' he can lift the demons out of his son. Jesus said, "If? It's not a matter of 'if,' it's just a matter of you believing I can do it. Of course, the father said that he believed, and asked for help to him become a better believer. Then Jesus went to the young boy, and lifted out the demons. The boy laid stiff for moment as if he were dead, but then he raised up, and was okay.

Have you wondered 'if' everything you do is going to be alright? Whether it be your relationships, job, business, school, etc. We all have that doubt in our minds.

I heard this sermon a while back by a pastor from Texas over a year ago, and it stuck with me ever since. It always pops in my mind whenever I have doubt about my business when things get challenging.

There are three points in that story that I want to bring up to help you get beyond your 'IF.'

First, the story points out that it's not a matter of if you can do it, but if you believe that it can be done. It's the belief that's going to take your forward. Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, and 'what ever the mind can conceive and believe, you can achieve.' -W. Clement Stone. If it couldn't be done, you wouldn't have thought about it. Without the ability to believe, it would be impossible to experience in any form a place you have never been. For example: just because we have never been to Mars doesn’t mean that most of us don’t believe that it is there. Think of Neil Armstrong who was the first individual to walk on the moon. He said it was possible knowing there was just two simple problems to solve. One, how to get there, and two, how to get back!

Which brings up to point two of this story. The father believed that his son can be healed by Jesus, and he asked to help with his unbelief. So, the next point is once you believe, you have to commit yourself. 'Faith without works is dead.' -James 2:26. You can believe all you want, but if you don't commit yourself to make it happen, it's not going to happen. Just imagining eating food isn't going to satisfy your hunger. You have to act for your satisfaction. Commitment is the act of continuing to do something long after the mood you set it in has passed. The best way to explain what happens when you commit is a quote I heard by W.H. Muray; 'Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.'

The last point of this story in helping you get beyond the if is that once you believe you can do it and you're committed, you may not see immediate results. Things may still seem 'dead' at the moment. You may not see any improvement or changes towards your goal, and you might be tempted to give up. Well, this is called the process. In order to grow or be better, you must be in the wilderness, perhaps just for a season. There's another story where Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days being tempted by the devil, and the devil finally just gave up with a promise of coming back soon. 'Your wilderness experience is your way out.' -Rev. Wayne Stafford, Pastor. Wisdom is created in your struggles. Strength is created when it's tough. How much do you think you can grow if everything was easy? It may be an uphill battle for a little while, but imagine what happens when you get to the top! It's all down hill from there. Fight to get over the hump! Stay in there long enough to have the strength and wisdom to enjoy your reward. You can't enjoy sunshine without the rain. 'Freedom is not lost when you fasten chains to your ankles or wrists. Freedom is actually gained when you hold fast and strong to the chains that bind your faith. In other words, you can be enslaved by your situation, but still find joy knowing that you're just in the process.' -Darnell Self. If your excited in your belief, you will stay committed for as long as it takes to reach your goal.

To sum up, to get beyond the 'if,' you have to first believe that you can do it, commit to it, and hand in there long enough, even when it's rough, to get where you want to be. Get beyond the the 'if' and Dream Big!