The Big If

If God Wills It ... Latin, German, French, English, Irish, Russian... We are all subject to His will for us.There's a real danger in talking big about what you will or will not do.

The reason is you really don’t  know the future. You can’t really be sure you’ll even be here much less be able to make anything happen.

Most have heard the common saying that... I'll do such and such if “the Lord is willing and the creek don't rise.” What I always say when I hear that is if the Lord is willing, the creek won't rise. 

There's one thing that controls what happens in the world - God's will. Some things are determined and some things are allowed to happen but nothing happens that is against his will. Sometimes he lets “bad” things happen that he fixes later or that he use to his and everyone else's advantage. Sometimes we know why they occur, sometimes we don’t.

Beyond that that statement don't ask me to explain any further because I can’t.  No one understands it all. But there is one thing we can understand and have confidence in and that is... No one but him can control what happens in the universe. Why? Because He is the Creator and we are just the creatures. The creatures don't decide, the creator decides.

“Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, of the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that. But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”  James 13-16

In this scripture the Bible is very clear that you are on dangerous grounds when you say that  you WILL do this or that in the future because you can't make that promise. You are showing ignorance and arrogance because you're not in charge of the future. You don’t know. You can’t know. You don’t have that knowledge. You don’t have that power.

But you can get on safe ground—it's easy!
To be on safe ground you just need to qualify your statements saying “if the Lord  wills or if the Lord is willing." That demonstrates respect and humility and awareness that we know the truth and the truth is that we don't even know if we will take our next breath or not. Our lives are gifts, not something that we make happen.

Every breath, every day, is a gift. 
Our health is a gift, our family is a gift, our abilities are gifts and all of these can be taken at any time. We are wise to stay humble and remember that there is a big IF about what will happen in our future or what we will do in our future and that is

...IF the Lord wills.

WINNER’S BOOK CLUB SELECTION OF THE WEEK

The New Strong-Willed Child

By Dr. James Dobson

This is one of the greatest books on raising children of all time!

Here’s the secret…All children are strong willed!

Even if they act meek, shy, introverted and quiet on the inside they are just as determined and strong willed as any of the others.

Here’s another secret, it's true of everyone. In business, sports, and all walks of life, every individual is strong willed. They may disguise it, but their iron will is the same as everyone else inside.

Situations you encounter with children parallel situations you encounter with adults. This book provides solid advice that applies in both areas.

Amazon’s Editorial Review

2005 Gold Medallion Award finalist! 

Dr. James Dobson has completely rewritten, updated, and expanded his classic best seller The Strong-Willed Child for a new generation of parents and teachers. The New Strong-Willed Child follows on the heels of Dr. Dobson's phenomenal best seller Bringing Up Boys. It offers practical how-to advice on raising difficult-to-handle children and incorporates the latest research with Dr. Dobson's legendary wit and wisdom. The New Strong-Willed Child is being rushed to press for parents needing help dealing with sibling rivalry, adhd, low self-esteem, and other important issues. This book is a must-read for parents and teachers struggling to raise and teach children who are convinced they should be able to live by their own rules!

About the Author

James C. Dobson, Ph.D., is founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, a nonprofit organization that produces his internationally syndicated radio programs, heard by more than 200 million people every day. He is seen on 80 television stations daily in the U.S. A licensed psychologist and licensed marriage, family, and child counselor, he is a clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and is listed in Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare. Dr. Dobson is married to Shirley and is the father of two grown children, Danae and Ryan. He resides in Colorado.

Here’s a Customer Review

Khyraen "Superintendent, Barlow Christian Aca... (CA, USA)

I have the older edition of this book; I absolutely love it. I re-read it every few years because there are so many ideas in it that I will forget the ones I do not immediately need--thus the need for review as my children grow and change. 

Spanking is advocated, but there are so much more to this book that a parent who does not believe in spanking—and is a reasonable person who understands that other good parents do use spanking—could read this book and take much out of it.  >>read more>>