A Missed Opportunity

We all know this question. What if? It plagues us day after day. What if I had done this? What if I had done that? What if this had happened? What if that had happened? We replay our lives, going over mistakes and victories, wishing we had done better, wishing we could do it again. Looking toward the future, the 'what-ifs' continue. What if I do this? What if I make this choice? What if I don't? What if.....

I can't speak for everyone, but most of my 'what-ifs' stem from one thing: fear. Fear of starting over in a new place -- again. Fear of starting over with a new group of people -- again. Fear of being in debt. Fear of not finding a job. Fear after fear after fear. When you take away the different objects of the fear, it all comes down to one main fear. The fear of making a mistake. The fear of missing an opportunity. The fear of choosing the wrong way. Roll those into one feeling, and that's the ultimate fear.

As I go over these fears, telling God all that I'm afraid of, a thought sparks in my head: Is there really such a thing as a missed opportunity? Sure, by going left instead of right, I may have missed the greatest roadside cafe on this side of the Mississippi, but by going right, I got to experience the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen. Choosing one thing instead of another, knowing I'm going to miss out on something, does not mean I'm going to be thrown into a state of non-existence. I'm still alive. God still works.

God doesn't work in just one way. He doesn't say if we make a wrong choice, He will cease to use us. In fact, God promises that He has already ordained all things for us. We can move forward in faith, knowing that our steps are on the path that He has lit with His own words. With Christ, we aren't walking in darkness. Right or Left are both good options, and both are lit by the same true God. One isn't a better opportunity than the other. It's just a different one. By making a decision, I'm not missing out on anything. God is making sure of that.

Ephesians 1:10-12 "as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory."