What If?

Have you ever had a “what if” moment? That moment you know God’s calling you to do something, either for the Kingdom or in your personal life, and you wonder if you can do it. You sit back and think about “what if” you succeed at this thing He’s calling you to do.

But have you ever stopped to ask yourself, “What if I don’t do this?”

I heard someone pose a similar question recently and they accompanied it with the statement of, “What if David hadn’t fought Goliath?”

Just think about that for a moment.

David was a young, scrawny teenager who spent his days with a bunch of sheep. No one believed in him. His own father didn’t even call him into the house when the prophet Samuel was looking for someone to anoint as the future king. No one imagined he could take down this giant that was threatening the armies of Israel.

But something happened when he heard Goliath’s challenge ring out across that open valley. Something prompted his heart that day, whispering, “You need to take this guy down.” That had to have been a terrifying moment, that split second of viewing what needed to be done and the image of him being the one to do it. But something settled in David’s spirit, a belief that he could succeed, a belief that God was on his side and would enable him to kill the massive, dangerous warrior. God had been with him when he killed the lion and the bear threatening his beloved sheep. Now God would be with him when he killed the beast threatening His sheep.

David rested in that belief in himself and his God—even though no one else around him believed—and he gathered five smooth stones. He marched into that valley with nothing but those stones and his slingshot. His impassioned declaration to Goliath confirms even more just how much he believed God was with him.

“Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee…”

1 Samuel 17: 45-46

David was speaking into existence his victory over the giant. He claimed that not only would the Lord of Hosts enable him to take down Goliath with his sling, he would also take away Goliath’s sword and cut off his head.

What amazing faith! What awe-inspiring courage!

But what if all of that never happened?

Let’s rewind back to that moment when David first heard Goliath’s challenge and began to wonder what was to be done about this enemy of God’s people.

David’s standing there, a boy only expected to deliver food to his brothers at the army camp and then return to the safety of home. He hears Goliath making threats against his brothers and the other soldiers and sees that everyone around him is too afraid to do anything about it. He feels the prompting that he should be the one to rise up and do what they will not. What if, instead of choosing that faith and courage that made him a beloved hero… what if David chose to be afraid like everyone else? What if he chose cowardice, shoved off the prompting on his heart as an absurd dream, delivered the food and ran home to his sheep?

What would David’s story have looked like then? What would the nation of Israel’s story have looked like?

Would anyone else have stepped up to kill Goliath? Would the Philistines have won this conflict and taken over Israel? Would David’s brothers have been killed in the battle?

Would David have even still become king?

Now that’s a thought to consider! It seems possible that this was a testing point for David. God had chosen him as the king that would replace the wayward King Saul, but perhaps He wanted to see if David would follow His lead. If David hadn’t chosen faith over fear, would God have passed him over for another king? Would David have settled back into his obscure life as a shepherd and never end up with the opportunity to take the throne?

I think it’s a likely possibility.

David’s valiant courage in the face of Goliath won the hearts of the people. It hurtled him to fame as a national hero and brave warrior, garnering him support from other warriors who became his close friends and famous band of Mighty Men. David would never have been able to ascend the throne and evade Saul’s attempts on his life without the support of the people and the help of his Mighty Men.

One single moment held decades of pivotal history in the balance.

Now, back to your “what if”. What is the thing you know God wants you to do? Think about it hard and ask yourself, “What if I do this?” Allow yourself to dream big, imagine all the possibilities of what good could come from your choice of faith over fear. Now flip that question on it’s head and ask yourself, “But what if I don’t?” Think about this question even harder. Does what you see scare you? Does the possibility of failing to follow God’s plan for your life, possibly changing the course of your history in a negative way, terrify you?

It should.

It terrifies me to think of what it could mean for me to not do the things God wants me to do. I want my faith, my belief in my God, to win out over my fear, the odds, and the unbelief of others around me. I want to choose courage like David did.

What amazing things might I be withholding from my family, my church, and the rest of the world if I choose to turn around and walk away and leave courage to someone else? What amazing things might you be withholding?

God can do anything He wants, but He desires willing vessels to be His agents in this world. He wants us to willingly submit to His leadership and allow Him to work through us. How stupid are we, how ridiculous are we to back away from Him and choose a “safe”, easy existence instead? How can we choose fear when we know what God is capable of and how many times He has enabled people just as weak or weaker than us to do amazing things? Our God is called The Lion of Judah for a reason! He’s a strong, mighty force capable of winning any battle. He is able to do absolutely anything! He created the very air we breathe, and yet we fear we will fail if we choose to follow His plan? If He has called you to it, you better believe He is going to help you get through it!

We must continue to ask ourselves, when faced with a big, scary God-size dream, “What could happen if I do this, and what could happen if I don’t?” We have to fear not doing what God wants us to do far more than we fear doing it. We must choose faith over our fear!