“What if I miss it?”

“What if I miss the one God has for me?”

“What if I miss getting into my dream school?”

“What if I miss the perfect job opportunity?”

“What if I make one wrong decision and it ruins the whole plan I had for my life?”

Have you ever found yourself asking those questions? Making ultimatum scenarios in your head, thinking of the worst possible outcome and how it would just throw everything else in your life off. I’ve been there more often than I’d like to admit. The common denominator I’ve found every time in these “what if?” scenarios is that they’re not rooted in truth. My God is always good, so thinking of a situation in which the outcome is negative or not His best for me is simply not aligned with His nature, or His plan for me.

Typically in these moments I would be wondering “what if I make the wrong decision?”, “what if someone doesn’t see my talents and I get overlooked?”, “what if they choose someone else?”…notice that nowhere do I factor in that I follow the Spirit of God, that God has the final say in my life, and that if I think I can mess up His plan, I’ve simply given myself too much power. His ways and His thoughts are higher, we simply have to align ourselves, (our will, thoughts, dreams, and desires) with Him.

Let me share a personal testimony. In 2019 I was working two jobs, at a Vet clinic (I have my Bachelor’s in Animal Science) and as a server at a restaurant, both of which I enjoyed! However, I started to look around and feel like since everyone around me was still in school, I needed to be also because “I was behind”, even thought I already had a degree. It led me into making a semi-impulsive decision to go for a second degree, and move two hours away for something I knew deep down wasn’t what I wanted to do. In a nutshell, I quit both of my jobs went to school and was MISERABLE. Everyday I was on my face begging God to show me what to do next because I knew I had missed it. BIG TIME. I wrote down that I wanted to either volunteer at my Church, solely focus on my acting, or go to a second Bible school (I also have an Associates in Ministry) across the country. After two weeks in school I withdrew from my classes which was not an easy decision, I’ll give you all the details one day. The day after I got back I went to Church to start volunteering and THAT DAY got asked to be on staff, I was OVER THE MOON, I’m still there and love it! Then, a few months later that Bible school became available online as well, so I’m currently enrolled…AND I get to focus on my acting all the time as well and even got signed with my dream agency I had been praying for for FIVE YEARS!

My point in all of this is not to brag on myself but on God! I missed it, and yet He turned something bad into something so, SO GOOD. More than I could’ve ever imagined. That’s who He is, it’s what He does. If you’re struggling with this I want to give you a couple nuggets of wisdom and encouragement:

• Know that it’s good to have GOD-GIVEN dreams and desires on your heart. You will know they’re God-given if they align with His Word.
• Think of every dream/desire you’ve had that already came to pass, those that you are currently living out, and those that are to come.
• Even in times in the past where you’ve “missed it” and made a mistake, God still turned it for good and used it to launch you into where He’s taking you!
• Know that when you ask yourself “what if I make the wrong decision?”, remember that God has the final say, you don’t. Trust Him, follow Him.
• Read His Word. Spend time with Him. Get to know Him as a best friend and a Father. This will give Him room to lead you and you will be confident in Him.

I’m going to leave you with a Scripture I’m sure you’re familiar with, but I really encourage you to meditate on:

“Trust in the Lord completely,
and do not rely on your own opinions.
With all your heart rely on him to guide you,
and he will lead you in every decision you make.
Become intimate with him in whatever you do,
and he will lead you wherever you go.”

-Proverbs 3:5-6 (TPT)