A reflection: Not if, but how?

I realize this isn’t quite a formal “blog post” in the traditional sense, but I wanted to take a minute to share something that’s been on my heart recently.

I feel a sense of relief as I write this before the markets open on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. The Dow futures are up 1,000 points on the news of the ceasefire, the Strait of Hormuz is scheduled to reopen, and West Texas Intermediate Crude futures are tumbling more than 16%. Time will tell, but this is a step in the right direction for the markets.

Do you feel a sense of relief, too?

As I sit with this sense of relief, I find myself reflecting on something deeper that’s been a helpful anchor for me in uncertain moments like this.

It’s this: I’ve realized how easily I confuse “if” with “how” in times like this.

If I’m honest, when things get uncertain, I start to wonder if things will be okay. I start to question if I’m going to have what I need…

…If things will work out.

…If I’ll have enough in the future.

Rational or not, our minds can kick into survival mode and go down the rabbit trail as deep as we let them go, right?

There’s certainly no lack of kindling to feed the fire of our worries. The constant unfolding of world events and market reactions gives us plenty of opportunity to let that fire grow, if we let it.

Ultimately, if you’re anything like me, you may question, “Will God still provide for me and my family through everything happening now?”

An undercurrent of unease can easily come over me. Perhaps you can relate.

But regardless of whether circumstances take a turn for the worse or for the better (like this morning), I find myself pondering…

What has changed… really?

Have God’s promises to provide for me suddenly changed (i.e., Matthew 6)? My faith tells me no—these promises have not changed. But if the reality that God will provide for me hasn’t changed, what has? Because something certainly feels like it has.

I think the HOW has changed.

I now know how God will provide for me.

You see, the how is always the unknown part of the equation. Every day we wake up and get to find out how God will provide for us. We get to experience the circumstances He uses to bring about His provision for us. We know He is able to use the seemingly good and the bad. It’s only in hindsight that we can see how He wove it all together.

(As a side note, I think I get attached to the “how” that I want. I want comfort and ease. Yet I’ve found that God’s path for us is often both harder and more glorifying to Him!)

Asking the right question has brought me relief over the years—whether I’m contemplating the markets’ ups and downs or dealing with a big, unexpected expense. The big question of if God will provide has been settled. Not because we are guaranteed ease and comfort in this life, but because our souls will ultimately find peace and rest in Him for all eternity, no matter what happens during the short time we spend on this earth.

With this perspective shift, I get to wake up each morning and ask the adventurous new question, “How do I get to participate in HOW God will provide today, for myself and others?”

This new question moves me from fear to expectation—even a sense of adventure! I feel a sense of peace and freedom to make an eternal impact in the world.

I’m reminded of a story from early in John Wesley’s faith journey that captures this in a powerful way.

John Wesley went to Georgia as a missionary. That’s when he met these German Moravians, a kind of evangelical from a different culture. On the way back from his missions trip, they ran into a storm. Wesley recalls in his journal,

“The sea broke over, covered the ship and poured in between decks. The main sail in pieces. A terrible screaming began among the English, but the Germans calmly sung on. I asked one of them afterwards, Were you not afraid? He answered, I thank God, no. But were not your women and children afraid? And he replied mildly, No, our women and children are not afraid to die.”

The Moravians kept praising in the midst of the storm. It was the most glorious thing that I had yet seen.*

The Moravians on that ship knew God was going to provide for their souls through their faith in Him, even if it meant they were going to meet Him in heaven that night because of the storm.

They never doubted if God would provide. All they had to wonder about was how, which they did with calm singing. May our faith be so strong.

*Stories of Divine Intervention: Miraculous: John Wesley (Stories of Divine Intervention – Episode 002), May 15, 2024 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/miraculous-stories-of-divine-intervention/id1746434923?i=1000655703899&r=163 This material may be protected by copyright.