If only...
If only I had...
If only I could...
If only I hadn't...
The "if onlys" are frequent flyers in my brain. It makes sense that we often go back to how things could have been if we had done something differently or could in the future. That is an important process. Evaluation of the past and our actions in it helps us grow, so that we can do things differently in the future. This is a part of confession to ourselves, to God and to others. But sometimes this process goes a little sideways... instead of learning from past mistakes or shortcomings, they become a source of fear, self-hatred and hopelessness. Why? Because we begin to believe that our actions have screwed up God's plan. That's where we go wrong.
As I think through the stories in the Bible about how God worked, I don't hear a lot of "if onlys". From the very beginning, God has made a plan for our sin. Our mistakes have never taken him by surprise. Rather, he consistently weaves them into a greater plan of redemption.
When Jacob favored Joseph over his brothers; when Joseph boasted proudly that he would rule his brothers; when his brothers sold him into slavery; when Potifar's wife tried to have sex with Joseph and sent Joseph to jail... Joseph became a ruler in Egypt and saved Israel's line from famine. Out of this line Jesus was born.
When Israel asked for a king, God said, "they have rejected me as their king... You will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen..." (Samuel 8) God listed out a number of negative consequences for this choice, but Israel demanded a king regardless. And yet... out of the line of the kings of Israel, Jesus was born.
When David killed a woman's husband so he could marry her, a son was born from their union. Out that line, Jesus was born.
When Judas betrayed Jesus, handing him over to death... we were saved.
Not even our sin and weakness is outside of God's sovereignty. In the story of Joseph, we read, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20 And again in Romans we read, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
What hope this gives! That in my "if onlys" I can remember that God knew about my weakness, limitations, mistakes and sin, and has ALREADY woven them into a plan of redemption today and for eternity. Sometimes we see the results of that and sometimes we don't, but we can rest in the assurance that my sin does not derail God's plan. He's got it. And He's got us. It's never too late. Never too hopeless. Never a lost cause.
If only I could...
If only I hadn't...
The "if onlys" are frequent flyers in my brain. It makes sense that we often go back to how things could have been if we had done something differently or could in the future. That is an important process. Evaluation of the past and our actions in it helps us grow, so that we can do things differently in the future. This is a part of confession to ourselves, to God and to others. But sometimes this process goes a little sideways... instead of learning from past mistakes or shortcomings, they become a source of fear, self-hatred and hopelessness. Why? Because we begin to believe that our actions have screwed up God's plan. That's where we go wrong.
As I think through the stories in the Bible about how God worked, I don't hear a lot of "if onlys". From the very beginning, God has made a plan for our sin. Our mistakes have never taken him by surprise. Rather, he consistently weaves them into a greater plan of redemption.
When Jacob favored Joseph over his brothers; when Joseph boasted proudly that he would rule his brothers; when his brothers sold him into slavery; when Potifar's wife tried to have sex with Joseph and sent Joseph to jail... Joseph became a ruler in Egypt and saved Israel's line from famine. Out of this line Jesus was born.
When Israel asked for a king, God said, "they have rejected me as their king... You will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen..." (Samuel 8) God listed out a number of negative consequences for this choice, but Israel demanded a king regardless. And yet... out of the line of the kings of Israel, Jesus was born.
When David killed a woman's husband so he could marry her, a son was born from their union. Out that line, Jesus was born.
When Judas betrayed Jesus, handing him over to death... we were saved.
Not even our sin and weakness is outside of God's sovereignty. In the story of Joseph, we read, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20 And again in Romans we read, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
What hope this gives! That in my "if onlys" I can remember that God knew about my weakness, limitations, mistakes and sin, and has ALREADY woven them into a plan of redemption today and for eternity. Sometimes we see the results of that and sometimes we don't, but we can rest in the assurance that my sin does not derail God's plan. He's got it. And He's got us. It's never too late. Never too hopeless. Never a lost cause.
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