Sometimes a simple carton or comic strip can say so much about living life in this world gone mad. A wise sage once said that art imitates life and I’ve found that to be especially true in the pithy political toon or a one-day comic strip story.
Take this example from Peanuts, my favorite saga, written by the late great Charles Schulz. Lucy and Linus are siblings of much-differing personalities. Lucy is the bold, boisterous and aggressive older sister. Linus is quiet, contemplative and ever-attached to his security blanket. There is a sibling rivalry there that fuels a lot of great comedy, and, in Schulz’s case, some extremely deep theology.
In the comic above (I don’t know if you’re able to click on it to make it bigger), a snowball fight has broken out between the two kids. Linus, ever-confident in his amazing multi-purpose blanket, boasts about how dangerous his new weapon can be — it can even hurl a snowball faster than the speed of sound. Lucy, likely aware of how right her little brother is, decides on a different strategy. Take it from me, big sisters can be cunning military opponents!
So she does one thing that often defeats a contemplative person on the field of snow battle. She drags her opponent into the kingdom of What If. What if… What if… What if…! Linus is disarmed.
What if dad loses his job? What if we lose our house?? What if we don’t have enough food??? What if everyone ends up sick???? And what if no one cares????? What IF??????
The tender-hearted Linus is stunned. He hadn’t thought of those scenarios before. What if all that happened? And in sequence! Linus turns away from his sister. Oh no! Dad might lose his job and we’re all in deep, deep trouble!
He gets leveled by a snowball.
“Military strategy!” his victorious sister declares. The enemy has won!
Oh, that treacherous kingdom of What If! That world of unknown and possibilities! That place where contemplative, thoughtful and tender-hearted people get stuck and then wiped out by the enemy’s emotional snowball!
“What if’s” are among the most dangerous scenarios a Christian can consider. I have seen many a soul get sucked into that kingdom and, despite repeatedly promising to leave, remain there absorbing snowball after snowball until doubt replaces faith and hope disappears into fear. It’s like a “Hotel California” of the spirit.
How do we get sucked into this most awful kingdom? I call it a “kingdom” because that is what it is — a realm of this rebellious world and its philosophies that is influenced by spiritual forces opposed to God, chiefly the prince of this world, Satan. We get sucked into it when we start to wonder what might happen next in our lives. When we start to look at our pitiful pantry and think of scarcity. When we pay our taxes due and think that we won’t have enough money to pay the other bills. When we cannot get rid of the nagging cough and suddenly think of lung cancer and imminent death.
The kingdom of what ifs leads your thought stream into places where God’s very goodness is questioned. To places where His grace… His provision… His love are not enough. To places where your anxiety increases so much that you scramble to protect yourself, kind of like burying a shoebox of bills in the backyard for safety.
Interestingly, when my dad’s family was cleaning out my grandpa’s old townhouse a decade ago we found evidence of this “shoebox” mindset that he and my grandma adopted during the Great Depression. As we explored the books on his old bookshelves currency bills started to come falling out of the pages! My grandparents had stashed 20 dollars here and ten dollars there, and I think the total sum ended up being around 200 dollars. We also found evidence that my grandfather had opened and closed multiple bank accounts in recent decades, likely because he still didn’t trust the banking system. In the guest bedroom closet we found a box of old silver coins. There was loot everywhere!
A mindset of “what if” doesn’t take into account the goodness and faithfulness of God. It doesn’t honor Him. It instead leads us to question His provision as a loving Father and to turn to our own cunning and wisdom to guide us out of danger. That’s usually when the snowballs hit. Our emotions end up flying through the air and hitting the ground hard! Will “what ifs” ever become real? We don’t know! Only God knows the future and only God has the true power to change it.
Remember that Jesus taught, “Don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ …Your heavenly Father knows that you need (these things). But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” (Matthew 6:31-33; see also 7:9-11)
Here is an idea…
When you start to lose your mind in what ifs and imaginary scenarios, repeat the following phrase over and over again until you calm down:
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing! (Or, ‘I shall not want’)”
Or, you can recite the whole 23rd psalm. After all, it is about the Lord’s presence and provision for you and me! It is the antithesis of the kingdom of What If.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing!
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your shepherd’s rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely Your goodness and faithful love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!”
Remember that God is good! Regardless of what you think/thought of your earthly father, God will not fail to be good, loving, and faithful.
Leave the kingdom of What If alone! Danger lurks inside. Maybe even a snowball. Instead dwell safely in the kingdom of Heaven, where you can rest by peaceful waters that the Shepherd lovingly provides. This is my prayer for you.
Be God’s!
J.C. Newton 