If you are anything like me, it’s easy to worry about anything and everything! Sometimes it can be the simplest things in life, like worrying if I said the right thing to someone in a conversation. But other times, it feels like the weight of the problem is so big that all I can do is worry about the outcome or solution. In those moments, it’s easy to feel so hopeless and scared. You start thinking, “what if this happens” or “what if that happens” and from there, you can spiral at all the negative possibilities. If you’ve found yourself in a similar situation, you are not alone. Actually, you are in the right place. I can’t wait to share with you the power of “Even if” and how my faith in God has been forever changed.

5 days after turning 19 years old, I had one of the scariest surgeries I’ve ever had. At the time, I was a collegiate long distance runner and had been running my whole life. In 2017, I started having back pain that was preventing me from running and even doing simple life tasks. After months of doctor appointments, physical therapy, and injections…I still had pain and no answers. I remember feeling like no one believed my pain. I remember feeling alone. I remember begging the Lord to heal me and take away the pain as I knew he could. But in this season of my life, the Lord didn’t do that. Once I finally got answers, I learned that I have Degenerative Disc Disease and because of this, I was going to need a 360 back fusion. This is a surgery where they go through the stomach and put in a cage with stem cells and then they flip you over and go through your back and add rods and screws. As you can understand, I was terrified! I started worrying about everything. “What if i can never run again, what if relearning how to walk is so hard i can’t do it, what if my surgery has complications, and what if i don’t get to go back to school next semester?” I gave power to the worry in my life and those questions started to consume me. Thank goodness for wise, loving moms. It was before my surgery that my mom told me this verse, “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s troubles are enough for today. Matthew 6:34” This verse is a hard concept to understand, especially for those who worry and fret about the future we can not see. We shouldn’t worry about things we can’t control. At the end of the day, we are not the maker of the universe or the one in control of our own lives. However, the good news is our God is! He already has tomorrow planned for us. He will take care of us day-by-day and moment-by-moment. During this season of my life, I really learned what it looks like to trust God even when I didn’t know what the outcome would look like.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if we just trust God in everything we do? I mean like REALLY trust him. It’s easy to trust God when life is going your way, but what about when you’re held to the flame? Where does your faith go then? When we are lacking in faith, we start to stand in the power of “what if” statements.

• What if I’m not pretty enough?
• What if I’m not good enough?
• What if I never get to be a mother?
• What if my friends judge me for following Jesus?
• What if I disappoint the Lord?
• What if my marriage won’t last?
• What if I never get married?

According to the dictionary, “What if”, is used when something is RARELY done or just IMAGINED. Every time we use a “what if” statement, this is just the worry talking about something that may not even happen or an idea that our imagination came up with. Our emotions control these “what if” statements…and let me tell you, sometimes your emotions lie. “What if” statements only take emotions, but “Even if” statements only take faith. The word “Even if” is used to say that if something is the case or not, the result is the SAME. Is this as mind blowing to you as it is to me? Whether this happens to you or not, the result is the same! This is who Jesus is! He is good, no matter what happens, no matter if he answers your prayer or not, he will always be good. If we stand in the power of “what if”, then we will never get to experience the faith of “even if”. There is even a story in the Bible that proves this.

My all time favorite Bible Story is about 3 young men and the faith they had in the one true God. In Daniel 3, we learn about King Nebuchadnezzar and a huge golden idol he made. He told everyone that when they hear the musical instrument, they must bow down to worship the gold statue. Anyone who refused to obey would immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. When it came time to bow down to the idol, 3 jewish men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, would not do it. The King told them that they would be thrown into the furnace if they didn’t…and this was their response:

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17 -18)

The 3 men were thrown into a furnace that was seven times hotter than usual. Then the King saw a 4th man standing in the fire with them. He called for them to come out and saw that they had not been burned. King Nebuchadnezzar then praised the Lord and told everyone to follow the one true God.

We see in verses 17-18 that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had faith that God could save them. They trusted God enough to say that even if he doesn’t save them, THE RESULT IS STILL THE SAME. Whether they turned to ashes or they were saved…God is still good & God is still King. God may work a miracle in your life or he may not…but that can not change how you respond to a test of your faith. It’s easy to let pain and sorrow lead your life, but look at the 3 jewish men. They still had to go through the fire and experience the flames…but the Lord was WITH them through it all. God is with you in the moments you feel alone, he is with you when you feel hopeless, he is with you when you don’t know what’s going to happen next, and he is with you when the weight of worry comes crashing down. I encourage you to change your “what if’s” to “even if’s” and stop giving power to worry. Today you can be set free from worry, but you have to declare your faith to the Lord. Not 10%, not 50%, not even 98%…you have to give 100% of your worries to the Lord. When you do, just like King Nebuchadnezzar, people around you will see your faith and will be encouraged to follow after the one who truly knows the plans for our future.

After having major back surgery, the Lord answered my prayers. I relearned how to walk, I went back to college the next semester, and I even finished out my college career as a long distance runner for my school. And let me tell you…Jesus got all the credit. In that season of my life, the Lord chose to heal me, but I had to have faith. I’m not saying that having faith is easy or after you give up worry, you won’t ever struggle again. The truth is your faith will always be tested in life, but if the Lord has done it before, I know He will do it again. But even if he doesn’t, I know He is still good and the plan he has for my life is better than I could ever imagine. My faith forever changed the moment I started changing my “what if’s” to “even if’s”.

Mya is a member of Team LO and enjoys spending time with her husband, Isaac, and their dog Bevo! Keep up with Mya on Instagram @mya.d.ramirez!