Even If — Lain McCanless

“If not, He is still good."

I have read that quote a thousand times, and I have agreed with it every time. However, when the quote became my reality it was a difficult pill to swallow. It was easy to look at those around me who were experiencing hardships and say a prayer, send a text, and tell them that God is good all the time and this was all happening for a reason. Little did I know, I would soon be on the other side of the mirror uttering those words to myself.

MercyMe released a song a few years ago titled, “Even If”. Take a few seconds to read the chorus below:

I read,

“I know You’re able and I know You can
Save through the fire with Your mighty hand
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone
I know the sorrow, and I know the hurt
Would all go away if You’d just say the word
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone”

— "Even If" by MercyMe

I have learned quite a few things already from the events that have happened in my life. First, you do not need to know details about the scenario to commit a person to prayer. Too many details lead to gossip and slander and it’s just dangerous. Second, when the rug gets ripped out from under your feet, make sure you have surrounded yourself with people who catch you, not people who let you fall. I am so blessed to have a fantastic support system. Also, it is important to acknowledge your own shortcomings… do not make excuses, just learn from it! Next, turning to anything except for God is asking for another mistake to be made. Don’t get me wrong, turn to family, friends, the church… but not until you’ve surrendered your situation to the Lord and placed it at His feet. Continuing, emotions are created by God, it is okay to experience the hurt, the anger, the bitterness, the sadness, the laughter, the joy… but FOR A TIME. We are never excused to sin in the midst of our sea of emotions. Trust me, when you experience hardships you will feel as if you are drowning in the sea of emotions.

However, I found something amazing. When you give it to God, He meets the fear, the anxiety, the grief, the anger, the bitterness with peace. PEACE!? Are you kidding me? That is exactly how I felt. I was almost mad I had this sense of peace in my life in the middle of chaos. I didn’t understand it. But then I remembered when I cast all my anxieties and cares at the feet of Jesus, I had laid my mess at the feet of the PRINCE OF PEACE. How neat it is that we serve the Lord, the Prince of Peace.

I used the Scripture below in my previous blog post as well, but I didn’t know that the Lord was going to use it in this stage of my life as well.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

— Romans 5:3-5

I am by no means characterizing my life alongside these great men of the Bible, but it does make me think of Joseph, David, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abdendego, Daniel, and many many more.

I am so thankful I have the Bible, one story, God-breathed, written by the faithfulness of over 40 men who were all broken, who all had a story. I truly believe God is teaching me something so valuable in the midst of this storm. I am not going to say it’s something great for my life, but I know that He promises that all things work together for His purpose— and that gives me great comfort.

An Open Letter,
Dear Man or Woman, Boy or Girl who is reading this. God is still in control. He’s with you— on your best days, He’s on the mountaintop with you— on your worst days, He is in the valley with you. Do not give up. Do not lose heart. Do not stop trusting. Satan wants to take that faith you have as a believer and crush it… don’t let it dwindle… Scripture promises that even if you have the faith of a mustard seed you can move mountains. I urge you to remember that even more than that, you serve a God who wants to move the mountain for you. He knows what is on the other side of that mountain. And sometimes He knows that in order to see what is on the other side, He wants us to climb the mountain rather than just move it… (take some hits, get some bruises, fall but get back up) because He knows that if we climb the mountain we are ready to face whatever may be on the other side.
Keep climbing. Keep trusting.

Bob Goff is one of my favorite authors. He tweeted something yesterday that said,