He Could Have
By: Kristen L. McNulty
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Recently I have been suffering quite a bit of pain because of a little accident I had. I was trying to put out a candle that was burning out of control and to get to it I moved a large cast iron pot. Unfortunately in the process the lid flew off the pot and landed directly on my big toe before dropping on the rest of my foot.
Instantly my foot exploded with pain and soon I was being rushed to the ER.
While I was sitting there withering in pain, I couldn't help but think that God could have helped prevent this. He could have speed up my reflexes, giving me enough time to move my foot completely out of the way. He could have made sure the lid didn't fall completely. He could have made sure that I had on shoes at the time. He could have stopped it from happening.
And this doesn't just apply to my situation. In fact, compared to what others are facing, my injury is nothing. He could have stopped the car from spinning out of control. He could have slowed down the growth of the cancer. He could have stopped the child from leaving home. He could have.
But I've come to realize that there is another side to this "he could have" statement. He could have destroyed mankind completely in the flood. He could have removed His presence completely from earth. He could have spared His son the agony of the cross. He could have left you and I alone to deal with the consequences of sin. He could have.
You see the way things are now, here on this earth isn't what God intended. He never wanted us to feel the pain of a broken heart. The mind blowing presence of physical pain. Or the overwhelming loss of a loved one. No, that wasn't His intention. But when we as a human race choose to sin, we opened the door up for all of these things. Pain, suffering, and death are all a side-effect of living in a world consumed and slowly being destroyed by sin.
So instead of letting us slowly self-destruct for all eternity, He came up with a compromise to our disobedience. A plan b. He lets us choose sin, He lets us feel pain, but He has taken the permanence away from our problems. Because while right now we feel the side-effects of sin- the pain, the despair, it's not a permanent condition.
Through the death of Jesus, the doors were opened for an eternity free from sin and thus the pain and suffering that comes with it. Those who've accepted Christ as their saviour will get to live in a world free from tragedy and headlines and grief.
So while today we feel pain, we know it is not permanent. Though we suffer today, we have been promised an end to all of this pain someday that will last for eternity. And in the meantime, God hasn't left us alone to navigate through this messed up world. Instead He gets down in the dirt with us and helps us walk through even the toughest days of our lives.
You see when it comes to a perfect eternity or the comfort of His presence today, there is no "He could have". Instead there is a He promises and He delivers.
This devotional was aired as a part of the Making A Difference Christian Radio Show.