If only - two small words but they contain so much poignancy as they reflect the pain, anguish and bitterness locked up in the hearts of many people.

The problem with the if only syndrome is that it cannot see beyond its own very limited sphere of vision. We lock ourselves into a painful “re-run” of events and wonder what might have been if things had turned out differently. The pain felt shuts us in to an inevitable hopelessness. It can see no solution and therefore expects no answer to its endless round of despair. And even when an answer is suggested, it is viewed with suspicion and disbelief.

NOTHING NEW

This state of mind is not a twentieth century phenomena. In the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, God describes a people who had anxious minds and despairing hearts. He says of them, “You live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, If only it were evening! and in the evening, If only it were morning!” Have you ever felt like this?

The reason for those people's state of mind was their rejection of God, and the answer was to turn back to God. But this is not always the case. Again in the Old Testament, a very good man named Job was forced by a series of adverse circumstances that were not of his making to cry out eight times, “If only.” Such was his anguish that he said, “If only I had never been born.” Then later when he realized that the answer was with God, he said, “If only I knew where to find him: if only I could go to his dwelling!”

What both Old Testament incidents teach us is that whatever the cause of our despair the answer is to be found in God. Job, in his misery, felt it was impossible to find God and maybe you feel the same way, but he was to discover this was not true. The good news is that Job did find the answer. His prayers were answered. He found God.

GOD'S “IF ONLY”

Listen now to if only on the lips of God. “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. 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” (Isaiah 48:18).

All the problems of mankind, in whatever form they may manifest themselves, stem from a broken relationship with God. The Lord only seeks our good. He only wants what is best for us, but sin has blinded us to this truth. We see God's commands as restrictive and narrow, and therefore go our own way. The result is always devastating. If only is the symptom of a heart complaining about the consequences of its own sin, or complaining about the effects of sin in general in the world.

NO REGRETS

The answer to if only, is to know the reality of sin forgiven and peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. A temporary peace of mind can be found in many things, but lasting peace with God is found only in Jesus. This is possible because God sent His Son into the world to deal with our sin and guilt. This Jesus did on the Cross when he accepted the responsibility for our sin and took the punishment those sins deserved. Peace with God is a product of salvation from sin.

When we know this peace, the if only of despair is replaced with an assurance that God will never leave us and never take from us the salvation we have in Jesus.

You can know this peace
by confessing your sin to God,
asking Him for forgiveness and
trusting in Jesus alone
to make you acceptable to the Lord