MFT86

"If Only"

These two words, to me, are the total embodiment of hopelessness, of sadness, of regret, of misery.

If you’ve ever used them, you know what I mean. At this point you’re in a place that you never intended to go. You never planned for this to happen. You never expected to be here. And yet you are.

If only.

Your mind races to all the other possibilities. All the other endings this story might have had. All the other things you should have done different; could have done different and then, then just maybe you wouldn’t be right here. Right now.

If only.

Believe it or not, this isn’t a new or modern phrase. It’s in the Bible. And used in pretty much the same way that we do today. It’s funny how much man has changed over the course of time, and yet is in so many ways the same.

If only.

Here are some instances:

Genesis 17:18

”And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing”. A father’s hope. You’ll remember that this comes after Abraham decided he had to “help” God by fathering a child with his wife’s handmaiden Hagar. Sarah has now become jealous, Hagar and Ishmael has to leave. Abraham loved his son.

If only

Genesis 18:29

Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it.". Abraham again, beseeching God to spare Sodom. This is a funny story (I think). Abraham works God down to 10 people and even with Lot’s family being counted; Abraham can’t find even 10 righteous people there!

If only.

Job 23:3

“If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling!”. Ever searched for God? Ever felt totally alone? Job did.

2 Samuel 18:33

The king (David) was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you-O Absalom, my son, my son!". This one always gets me. These are probably the saddest words in the Bible. I can hear the anguish in David’s voice. I can see the pain n his face. The heart-wrenching cry of a father who knows he’s failed. Who’s lost his favorite son, who knows he’s responsible for this outcome. Bad decisions. Pride. Ego. One small mistake, many large ones; it doesn’t matter now. If only, if only, if only.

If only I’d been a better husband.

If only I’d done things different.

If only I had focused on things above and not things below.

If only I’d said no- or yes.

If only I’d never gone there.

Well I have. You did. We are where we’ve put ourselves and if only… if only.

What always gets me about that verse is that I can see myself in it. My bad choices. My bad decisions. My failures. My hope lost.

But God’s there as well. Do you see it?

A King mourning over a lost child. A Father wanting so desperately for a different outcome. “I could have given you everything”, “You needn’t have wanted for anything”. “Every thing I own could have been yours”. I can hear Him in anguish crying out “if only..”, “I made the way for you, and it was so easy to find Me”.

If only.

If only they’d listen.

If only their hardened hearts would have softened.

If only they could see how much I love them.

If only.

You and I are going to say these words a lot in our lifetime. I’ve said them quite a bit lately. And for a while we may have an opportunity to make things right. To go back and change what we’ve messed up. Even if only partially. Maybe not though.

If only.

But the day will come where we will have used up all our second chances. There will be no more time for remorse. No hope of change. No chance to re-do. To un-do.

If only.

That day will come as we sit before God, not as a Savior, but as a Judge. And we’ll utter those words without hope for all eternity; “if only”.

And He’ll reply with a tear in His eye: “yes, if only”.

Don’t go here. Don’t get caught in this one. Take the time, make the time. It’s as easy as “A,B,C”.

Admit: that you’re a sinner

Believe: that Jesus is God’s only son and that He died and rose from the grave to pay the price for your sins

Confess: Him as your Lord and Master.

Isaiah 48:18

“If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”

If only.

Remember to lift each other up in prayer,

I love you all,

Created by Craig McElroy and used with his permission.