God helps 'if'?

[BrotherAtArms]

My mother worries a lot, to say the least, so hopefully you'll understand my view point on this.

Let me start with this- My wife and mother work in the same place. My mother was talking about some people in a completely different section getting laid off their job, though my mom and wife's section is safe. But my mother continues to say how we need to be wise with our decisions, which I agree, but it boils down to a point where it seems that her faith depends on self. What can 'I' do to make it work, y'know?
I believe that faith in God is greater than my own personal wisdom. Don't get me wrong here, I don't want to run out in the middle of a busy highway and have faith that God will protect me, I know that would be stupid...

Here's the meat of all this. I made the statement that I believe in my God being my provider and I trust in Him. She said that the Bible has little "if's" in it that as long as I do this then He'll help me or whatever.
I believe that He is my provider
I believe that I can only please Him by faith
I believe that if I have the faith the size of a mustard seed I can move mountains
I believe that He will never leave me nor forsake me
I believe that He promised to always be with me

Now my question is, outside of living a righteous life, what "if's" are there in the Bible that say, "God will be there for you 'if' "?

Because all I ever see is God's people move forward when there was no where to go, but God made the way.

 

[calluna]

what "if's" are there in the Bible that say, "God will be there for you 'if' "?

'Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you who are half-hearted. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.' James 4:8-10

It is unconfessed sin, and only unconfessed sin, that stands between us and full fellowship with God.

 

[BrotherAtArms]

That's what I figured. I couldn't imagine a 'if' outside of sin.

 

[LilLamb219]

Maybe your mother is more worried about the consequences of her actions and seeing it differently than it truly is. God allows us to suffer consequences, whether they are good or bad, for our actions but some people see the bad consequences as being more of a punishment...as in, IF I did it differently, God would have rewarded me. But that's a faulty way of looking at it, because consequences are results of what we do and not punishments or rewards.

Using your example, if you ran out into a busy street, well the consequences of your actions would have been a negative one. Yes, God could protect you, but more than likely, you'll get badly injured because of your decision. So, in a direct way, we do see that our decisions can make a difference in how we receive the consequences, but that's not the case always.

But going through our lives wondering when the bad will happen just because of what I do is not really trusting that we are in God's hands.

 

[BrotherAtArms]

Yeah, my mother's philosophy is that God helps you as long as you help yourself. I understand the meaning of work ethic, but I don't think she believes that God wants to bless us more than we ourselves want to be blessed.
I remember she looked on the apostles deaths (the gruesome ones) as a bad thing, where I see it as a beautiful thing.
I don't know if I should just go on and just 'agree to disagree' or what... but I still hold true to my look on the Bibles teachings.

 

[visionary]

Let not your hearts be troubled....

Fear not....

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Because all I ever see is God's people move forward when there was no where to go, but God made the way.

I also recommend giving the book of Job a good read. I actually view that book as a mini-Bible in itself. It is one of the most "unique" books in the OC of the Bible and just as Melchizedek appears out of nowhere in the OC, so does Job.

This is one reason I like the Gospel of John so much, as his Gospel is also "unique" in the NC of the Bible. Just my humble thoughts

http://www.kingdombiblestudies.org/Job/Job.htm

........It is believed that the book of Job is the most ancient of the inspired writings we have come to know as the Bible. It predates the first five books of the Bible, the books of Moses, and its exact origin is a mystery. We do not know who wrote the book of Job: no information is given us on this point either in the book itself or elsewhere.

The book of Job just appeared on the scene, it came out of antiquity, it emerged from the mists of obscurity, and has always been a part of human history. It was just there! It was there before Moses. It was there, perhaps, before Abraham. We cannot tell when Job lived. The scene of the book of Job is laid in Arabia in the remote Patriarchal period.............