IF…THEN — Lesson Two
Today’s If…
“If my circumstances changed, then I could finally have peace.”
Have you ever found yourself thinking:
If my health gets better, then I’ll have peace.
If my marriage changes, then I’ll be happy.
If my children make better choices, then I can stop worrying.
If I get out of debt, then I can breathe.
If I get that job, then I’ll feel secure.
If this season ends, then I can enjoy life again.
If God answers this prayer, then I’ll know everything is going to be okay.
There is nothing wrong with wanting difficult circumstances to change.
We pray.
We seek help.
We make wise decisions.
We work toward change.
But there is a danger when we begin telling our hearts:
“I cannot have peace until this changes.”
Because without realizing it, we have handed our peace over to our circumstances.
The Culture Around Us Says…
Our culture constantly tells us:
Change your circumstances, and you’ll change your life.
Get a better job.
Earn more money.
Find the right relationship.
Buy the right house.
Fix your body.
Remove difficult people.
Travel somewhere beautiful.
Create the perfect environment.
And certainly, some circumstances should change. Sometimes wisdom requires action, boundaries, treatment, repentance, reconciliation, or walking away from something harmful.
But there is a deeper question:
What happens when I have done everything I know to do—and the circumstance still hasn’t changed?
Can I still have peace?
Can I still worship?
Can I still live?
Can I still serve?
Can I still believe that God is good?
A Question We Need to Ask
Finish this sentence:
“If __________________ changes, then I will finally __________________.”
Maybe your answer is:
…then I’ll be happy.
…then I’ll stop worrying.
…then I’ll trust God.
…then I’ll enjoy my life.
…then I’ll serve again.
…then I’ll forgive.
…then I’ll have peace.
Now ask yourself something deeper:
Have I placed something in that blank that God never intended to become the source of my peace?
A Biblical Picture — Paul’s Thorn
Paul knew what it was like to ask God for something to change.
He described a painful weakness as a “thorn in the flesh.”
And Paul did exactly what many of us would do.
He prayed.
Not once.
Not twice.
Three times he pleaded with the Lord to remove it.
But God did not answer Paul the way Paul requested.
Instead, God told him:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” — 2 Corinthians 12:9
Think about that.
Paul asked:
“God, change this.”
God answered:
“Paul, I will give you what you need while you walk through this.”
God’s answer wasn’t abandonment.
It was sustaining grace.
What If God Doesn’t Change It Yet?
This is where faith becomes deeper.
Sometimes God changes the circumstance.
Sometimes God changes us through the circumstance.
Sometimes He removes the mountain.
Sometimes He strengthens our legs to climb it.
Sometimes He calms the storm.
Sometimes He teaches us that He can hold us steady while the storm is still raging.
Jesus never promised us a life without trouble.
He said:
“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33
Our peace does not come from pretending the storm isn’t real.
Our peace comes from knowing Who is with us in the storm.
From My Heart to Yours
There was a season in my life when circumstances were very different from what I wanted.
Years ago, after going through chemotherapy, my body became extremely weak.
There were times when I was very sick, running fevers, exhausted, and wondering what my future would look like.
I could easily have thought:
“If I could just get healthy again, then I can live.”
But life was already happening.
Right there.
In weakness.
In uncertainty.
In one day at a time.
I could not control everything happening inside my body.
I could not see years into the future.
I could only take the next step God placed before me.
And step by step, I learned something I could never have learned simply by reading it:
Trust does not mean knowing what will happen next.
Trust means knowing Who holds me when I don’t know what happens next.
Today, many years later, I can look backward and see days I never knew I would live to see.
But during those difficult days, God wasn’t asking me to understand the next twenty years.
He was asking me to trust Him that day.
That is still how He teaches me.
One step.
One prayer.
One surrendered day at a time.
— El Roi’s Daughter — the God who sees me
Now Let’s Turn the “If”
At the beginning we said:
If my circumstances change, then I will have peace.
Let’s turn it.
If Jesus is my peace,
then peace can begin before my circumstances change.
If God’s grace is sufficient,
then my weakness does not mean He has abandoned me.
If God is with me today,
then I don’t need tomorrow’s answers to obey Him today.
If His strength is made perfect in weakness,
then weakness can become the very place where I experience His power.
And perhaps the hardest one:
If God does not answer the way I hoped,
then I will still trust His character.
That is not shallow faith.
That is mature faith.
The Difference Between Surrender and Giving Up
Surrender does not mean:
“It doesn’t matter.”
Surrender says:
“It matters deeply, but I trust God with what I cannot control.”
Giving up says:
“Nothing can be done.”
Surrender says:
“I will do what God has placed in my hands and trust Him with what He has not.”
There may be a doctor’s appointment you need to make.
A conversation you need to have.
A relationship that needs wise boundaries.
A financial decision you need to face.
An apology you need to give.
Help you need to ask for.
A habit you need to change.
Faith doesn’t mean doing nothing.
Faith means doing your part without trying to become God over the outcome.
The Place Where Faith Becomes Action
Draw two circles on a piece of paper.
WHAT IS IN MY HANDS?
Write down the things you can responsibly do.
Pray.
Seek wisdom.
Make the appointment.
Have the conversation.
Forgive.
Set the boundary.
Work.
Rest.
Ask for help.
Obey what God has already shown you.
Then write:
WHAT BELONGS IN GOD’S HANDS?
Other people’s decisions.
Tomorrow.
The final outcome.
How quickly healing happens.
Whether someone changes.
Doors opening or closing.
Things you simply cannot control.
Then pray:
“Lord, give me courage for what belongs in my hands and faith to release what belongs in Yours.”
Three Questions for the Heart
1. What circumstance have I been waiting to change before allowing myself to live fully today?
2. Am I asking God only to remove my difficulty, or am I also asking Him what He wants to produce in me through it?
3. What is one thing I can faithfully do today while leaving the outcome with God?
Kingdom Action
For the next seven days, whenever you catch yourself saying:
“I’ll be okay when…”
Stop.
Replace it with:
“God is with me now.”
Not when the diagnosis changes.
Not when the relationship changes.
Not when the money arrives.
Not when someone apologizes.
Not when you finally understand everything.
Now.
And then ask:
“Lord, what does faithfulness look like today?”
Do that one thing.
A Moment With God
Father,
You know the circumstance I desperately want You to change.
You know how many times I have prayed about it.
You know the nights I have worried, the tears I have cried, and the questions I have carried.
Sometimes I have told myself:
“If this changes, then I’ll finally be okay.”
But today I don’t want my peace to belong to my circumstances.
I want my peace to belong to You.
If You change the situation, I will praise You.
If You ask me to wait, sustain me.
If You open the door, help me walk through it.
If You close the door, help me trust You.
If You remove the thorn, I will thank You.
And if for a season You allow it to remain, teach me the sufficiency of Your grace.
Show me what belongs in my hands and what belongs in Yours.
Give me courage to act where I need to act.
Give me humility to ask for help when I need help.
Give me wisdom to change what needs changing.
And give me faith to release what I cannot control.
I don’t need all of tomorrow’s answers today.
I need today’s grace for today’s step.
You are here.
You see me.
You know me.
And You are enough.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
A Final Whisper to Your Heart
Perhaps the circumstance you prayed would be gone by now is still here.
That does not mean God has left.
Paul still had the thorn.
And Paul still had Jesus.
Maybe today you cannot say:
“Everything is better.”
But perhaps you can say:
“God is still with me.”
And sometimes that is where the deepest kind of faith begins.
So instead of:
“If my circumstances change, then I’ll have peace…”
Let your heart begin saying:
“If Christ is with me, then I can walk through this day with Him.”
You don’t have to live tomorrow today.
Take today’s step.
Receive today’s grace.
Trust God with tomorrow.
If He is with you…then you are not walking through this alone.
Walking with you in His grace — one step, one prayer, one surrendered heart at a time.
— Rachel Lim
El Roi’s Daughter — the God who sees me