“Observe the Lord’s commands…for your own good” (Deuteronomy 10:13).

 

Do you ever catch yourself looking back, regretting an unfortunate decision, saying “If only I had not done that”?  “If only I had not made that investment.”  “If only I had said, No!'”  “If only I had listened to my parents.”  “If only I had married the other girl.”  The possibilities are endless, because there is an “if only” for every mistake you have ever made.

We are like the young man who borrowed his father’s car without permission and had an accident.  There was the crunch of the fender and breaking of glass as the car finally came lurching to a stop.  The young man got out, stood by the crumpled fender and gasped.  Closing his eyes, he prayed, “Dear God, I pray this did not happen!”  But it did happen.

Almost everyone at some time or another gives in to the urge to say, “If only I had not done this!” but when you dwell on it, you live in a world of broken pieces, frustration, regret, and defeat.

Whatever happened did happen, and you have to live with the results of your failure, for the past, like water poured out into the sand, cannot be changed.  The damage is done, whatever it may be.

There are two words some have learned which make all the difference in the world.  They are the words, “And yet…!”  Instead of dwelling on “If only I had not done this” they have learned to accept the consequences of their actions and look to a brighter future by saying, “And yet….”

Take, for example, the story of a young man whose name was Joseph, who was sold into Egypt by his brothers.  Joseph could have lived in a world of broken pieces saying, “If only I had not been so boastful.  If only I had not ended up in Egypt.  If only I had not been thrown into prison.”  Joseph majored on the “and yet.”  He believed that God could take a failure situation and turn it into a victory.  “…you meant evil against me,” he said, “but God meant it for good…” (Genesis 50:20, NKJV).  What a difference!

Fanny Crosby could have lived in a world of darkness, cursing the despair of blindness brought on by a doctor whose failure resulted in her losing her sight.  “If only I had not gone blind,” she could have said.  Fanny Crosby did not waste her time saying, “If only.”  Instead, she lived to the age of 95, and wrote over 8,000 beautiful songs which have blessed the hearts of Christians around the world.  An acquaintance of mine who has no sight says one advantage is that he can read Braille under the covers at night without getting cold.

A man who lost both legs in an accident says, “And yet I can use my arms and write.  I can talk and can use my brain.  I still have much to be thankful for!”

Someone once said, “Success is never final and failure is never fatal!”  That may well be true, but unquestionably it is for the one who majors on the “And yet!”

Are you tempted to dwell on yesterday’s failure saying, “If only…,” always excusing yourself because of the circumstances?  When you catch yourself saying, “If only…” learn to immediately add, “And yet…”  There are some things in life that happen which are neither the result of Satanic attack or the judgment of the Almighty.  When it rains, it rains on the just and the unjust.  When the typhoon strikes, it hits the righteous as well as the unrighteous.  Believing that God is sovereign, that He can turn any disaster into a victory, causes you to look for the positive results which can come out of a difficult situation.

When you say, “If only…” you despair of God’s bringing good out of a difficult situation.  And when you say, “And yet…,” you begin to focus on what God can bring out of a tough situation.  Think about it.

Resource reading: Genesis 50.