Preface

Before Venturing Down the Rabbit Hole with me…

… it’s important to understand the perspective my approach. This book is a journal of sorts, a sharing of my experience in getting answers to question of what it looks like when God trusts someone with something, like an assignment, if you will. There’s a lot out there already on how one should trust the Lord and why, and what one can trust Him with and for (spoiler alert: everything) but I needed to know for myself what it looks like scripturally when He’s the One doing the trusting.

What this book is not is a scholarly exposition on the topic, nor is it intended to be an exhaustive commentary. Both of those have their place and can add value or depth to whatever subject a person might be delving into. Apart from looking up the occasional word in the original language or some light research on the history of the time, I’ve chosen to stay within scripture, to have the Lord show me directly in His word what He’s saying without having to filter His voice through someone else’s opinion (no matter how correct they may be). This is a trip I wanted to experience firsthand, much the same way I’d like to visit Yellowstone Park and see it for myself and not through someone else’s eyes. Commentaries and the like absolutely have their place in the study of scripture and I have several in my personal library but I use them after digging into the scriptures myself and hearing what the Lord would say to me directly.

One of the more challenging things to figure out was the best way to share my discoveries with everyone in a format that would make the most sense. The first part of each chapter will identify the myth, lie (or excuse) and preconceived notion about why one can’t serve God in some way, or what they believe serving Him looks like. The second part of the chapter is a deep dive or a test case, explaining how I arrived at the conclusion(s) I did, using the lives of those in the Bible who were used by the Lord to carry out an assignment. Not everyone named in scripture will be included but there will be enough to help one understand how Elohim Adonai moved in the lives of these individuals, for the benefit of others.

Why is the book titled “No If – When God Trusts You”? The short answer is there’s not really an “if” when it comes to God’s plans and when He directs us to do something. The more I studied the subject of Him involving us in His work, the more He showed me how idiot proof things can really be! Nothing can shock Him, surprise Him, overpower Him or be more than Him. Needing an “if” in the sense of a backup plan implies that one doesn’t know if the original plan will succeed. God needs no backup plan. Ever. However, we have a tendency to impose our human limitations on God and it gets in the way of us (and me) seeing Him as He truly is.

Now that that’s out of the way, welcome to the adventure! My hope and prayer is that you discover at least one helpful bit of truth and that you’re inspired to start your own journey into the riches of scripture, and through that, draw closer to the Lord.