The greatest mental battles we face in life never happen. You know, the wars we fight in our minds because of the “what ifs” of life. The invasion of the enemy of worry attacks everyone, some more than others. When worry invades it can be subtle, invisible, and a relentless foe bombing us with a variety of negative possibilities in life.
The times we live in now are ground zero for these attacks to take place. Our thoughts race with the “what ifs” of the coronavirus, the ramifications of a lockdown, and the effect it will have on our economy. Even the Center for Disease control sees the effect that the virus will have on mental health and has included a section on its website for stress and anxiety. And if the invasions from the pandemic are not enough, now we have rioting and looting consuming major cities around the nation. Can I give you some advice? If you are looking for a career path, consider psychology.
Unfortunately, God’s people are not immune to worry. One meaning of worry is “to gnaw.” Growing up, we had a dog that loved his bones. He would gnaw on those bones all day, and afterward, he would take the bone and bury it. The next day, he would dig up the bone and gnaw on it again. Worry is like gnawing on a bone. We gnaw on the “what ifs” of life because worry is also a kind of fear. And how many times has God told us throughout the Bible not to fear? Therefore, it’s important that we learn to fight the “what ifs” of life that we often gnaw on.
The Bible is replete with practical and penetrating truths for fighting this battle with worry. One particular passage caught my attention. It’s Psalm 124. Before we look at the psalm, it is important to put it into context.
Most scholars believe that Psalm 123 and 124 belong, if not historically, at least thematically. The reason historical context is in question is the fact that the inscription on Psalm 124 attributes the psalm to King David. However, some manuscripts don’t have his name on it, leading some scholars to believe that a scribe added the name in later years. As a result, some scholars believe the events described take place during David’s reign, others during the time of Nehemiah, and others, King Hezekiah. The psalm is general and can fit into either historical context.
Thematically, there is a connection between Psalms, 123, and 124. In Psalm 123, the psalmist in crying out for God’s mercy on account of the contempt and ridicule from the enemy. In Psalm 124 we see the testimony of God’s activity in answering the cry of the previous psalm.
We find the reason this psalm caught my attention in the first two verses. It reads, “If it had not been the Lord was on our side—let Israel now say—If it had not been the Lord who as on our side.” The emotion of these two verses is better brought out with the New Living Translation, “What if the Lord had not been on our side?” The emotion is one of perplexity. It’s the gasp that comes from a person delivered from death or some terrible situation. It’s the “what could have happened” emotion.
Two years ago, my oldest daughter fell asleep while driving home. She was attending Arkansas State and was making her way back to the university. Going seventy miles an hour, her vehicle hit a guardrail, causing her to cross over the opposite side of the highway, hitting a ditch, and going airborne until she stopped in the middle of a field. I remember the evening well because I had been praying for her twenty-minutes before this happened.
When my wife and daughter visited the site of the wreck, they experienced this same emotion. What if she ran off the road fifty-feet earlier? She would have hit a bridge. What if there was traffic coming down the opposite side of the highway? She could have had a head-on collision. Fortunately, she came away from the wreck with no scratch and a totaled vehicle.
The “what if” presented in this psalm is not an unhealthy “what if.” The reflection of what could have happened is healthy because they can reflect upon the positive outcomes of God’s activity in their lives. Yet, to get to the positive outcomes, one must first observe the negative possibilities.
Reflection
Two times we see the phrase, “the Lord who was on our side.” The speculative reflection is this: “what if God wasn’t in our lives?” Or, “what if God wasn’t for us?” What if all we could think about are the people and circumstances against us. The what-ifs of negative possibilities would overtake us.
The what-if of negative possibilities
Take God out of the equation and here is what you will have, “when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters.” Without God, the negative possibilities would have become realities.
Somehow, when we are consumed with the “what ifs” of negative possibilities, we lose sight of the fact that “the Lord is on our side.” Instead, all we can see are the people and circumstances are against us. We allow the possibilities to overtake us.
If you are often captive to negative possibilities, you are not alone. The Bible is abounding with examples of God’s people losing sight of God. When Joseph’s brother came back from Egypt, they had to leave their brother Simeon there and bring back their brother Benjamin. When they told Jacob the situation he cried out, “Everything is going against me!” (Gen. 42:36). This Jacob, who saw angels descending and ascending into heaven, and wrestled with God until God blessed him, could only see the circumstances against him, not the Lord who was with him.
Elijah, after seeing the Lord consume his sacrifice with fire from heaven, and killing the prophets of Baal, could only see Jezebel against him, which caused him to run for his life, and become despairing of life to the point of wanting to die. He could only see the “what ifs” of negative possibilities, and not the Lord who was with him.
When we worry about the negative possibilities, it’s because of the assumed absence of God in the details of life. The negative possibilities happen because we exclude God from the equation. However, when we reflect upon the truth that “the Lord is with us” we experience the “what ifs” of positive outcomes.
The what-if of positive outcomes
The imagery that the psalmist uses is very descriptive of the negative situations and circumstances we face in life. Just like Isreal, Christians have an enemy, the devil who wants to kill, steal, and destroy our lives. When we face the troubles of life, they don’t send out a warning so we can prepare. They hit us like a Mack truck. We know this well because of experience. As a result, the “what ifs” of negative possibilities can easily overtake us.
In verses six and seven, we read, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! We have escaped like a bird from the snare of fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped!” The implication of these two verses is that we will experience situations and circumstances that are not pleasant. We will face trials and tribulations. However, when God is in the equation of our lives, he will get us through negative experiences with positive outcomes. Fighting life’s “what ifs” require, not only proper reflection but also a proper response.
Response
In verse six, and in verse eight, we find the proper responses to God’s activity in our lives. First, we must respond with adoration.
Adoration
We read, in verse six, “Blessed be the Lord.” Another way to translate this phrase is, “Yahweh be worshipped.” Why? We worship and adore the Lord because he is on our side and he delivers us from the enemies and troubles we face.
I mentioned already that Psalm 123 and 124 are connected? Psalm 123 is a cry for help. I believe that it is referring to the time of Nehemiah and the people of God rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. While building the wall the enemy of God and his people threatened them, discouraged them. All they could see were the negative possibilities. What did Nehemiah do? He reminded them that God was on their side.
Notice what Psalm 123:1 says, “To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!” They turned their eyes from the negative possibilities to the positive outcome of having the Lord on their side. And we must do the same. The writer of Hebrews calls us to fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author, and the perfector of our faith. One of my favorite hymns goes like this: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.” We respond with adoration. We also respond with a declaration.
Declaration
Verse eight, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Some consider this psalm to be a thanksgiving psalm. Others, myself included, consider this psalm to be a testimony psalm about God’s activity in the life of his people. Verse eight is a declaration of God’s activity. It is a testimony. The Lord, who is on our side, the one who delivered us from the enemy, he helped us. Nothing can come against us that is greater than the Lord who is with us. We have to respond to the “what ifs” of negative possibilities with the declaration of this truth. Finally, we respond with consecration.
Consecration
If a declaration is our testimony of God’s help, then consecration is our submission to his help. This is the daily activity of offering our lives as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Jesus. Our battle with the “what ifs” of negative possibilities begins with a proper reflection, which should cause the proper responses of adoration, declaration, and consecration. Yet, a proper reflection and a proper response are ineffective if one does not have a proper relationship.
Relationship
Throughout Psalm 124 the name used for God is Yahweh, the name for God that emphasizes covenant relationship. It is used to describe God and man in a relationship together. Isreal was in a covenant relationship with the Lord. Therefore, because of this relationship, they could declare that God is on their side, that he was their help.
In the same manner, for us to win the battles over life’s “what ifs,” we need a personal relationship with the Lord, made possible through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. When we have trusted Christ and Lord and Savior, we enter a covenant relationship with the Lord.
What does this relationship with Jesus involve? It signifies that “God is for us, and not against us” (Romans 8:31). The universe can be against us, but God, who more powerful than any opposition we encounter, is on our side. It means that the Holy Spirit and Jesus Pray for us because God is with us. It shows God will take care of us and for us because, “He who did not spare his own Son, but freely and graciously gave him up for us all, how will he not freely and graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) It means that we are more than conquers. It determines that nothing, absolutely nothing, will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Because of the cross, God is for us, and because of the resurrection, everything will be okay in the end.
At seventeen, I experienced an automobile wreck I should have never survived. When I recall the memories of that night and consider the negative possibilities that could have occurred, I shutter.
It was a Thursday night. I had a fake identification and an unhealthy passion for partying. Some friends and I went to a bar in Wylie, Texas called the Ranch House. During the night, the bar ran one dollar tequila shots special. I took my last ten-dollar bill and spent it on tequila. You can see where this is going.
Dumb and inebriated, I got behind the wheel of my Toyota Truck and tried to drive home. A mile down the road I bent over to change the radio station, but I never came back up. The truck flipped and hit a telephone pole at the back of the truck. I walked away from the accident without a scratch.
I visit that night often in my mind and consider the many “what ifs” that could have happened, but didn’t. What if there was a vehicle coming from the opposite direction? What if the telephone pole broke, and the wires fell on top of my truck? But the most disturbing “what if” is this one: what if I died that night? This “what if” makes me shutter. Why? If I died that night, I would be in hell for eternity. I didn’t know Jesus as my Lord and Savior. In fact, it would take five more years before I gave my life to Christ.
What if you don’t know Jesus? What if you have never been born again? What if you were to die today? Without Christ, you would spend eternity separated from God. The negative possibility of going to hell becomes a reality when you die without Christ. The only positive outcome comes only by trusting Jesus and your Lord and Savior. What will you do?
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