Matthew 26: God COULD…
But sometimes He doesn’t. God can do ANYTHING He wishes. He’s God. As Francis Chan said in his One Prayer message “You may not like the way God does things. You might have a ‘better’ way, but you don’t have a universe.” GOD DOES. And He MADE it. He can do ANYTHING. But even though He COULD he doesn’t ALWAYS do what He can.
In Matthew 26, Jesus is betrayed by his close friend Judas, then He is arrested. When arrested, Peter tries to slash one of the guards with a sword. Jesus reprimands him and says in Matthew 26:52-54 52 “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword. 53 Don’t you realize that I COULD ask my Father for thousands[h] of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? 54BUT IF I DID, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”
“Peter, I COULD…but if I did…” Peter had to be thinking, “If you CAN, why don’t you?”
Don’t we ask that? “Lord, if you CAN heal me why don’t you?” “Lord if you COULD have stopped mom from dying…” “If you CAN get me that job…” “If you COULD provide this…” “If you COULD do that…”
I think many times we might be missing the voice of God saying “Jeff, I COULD…but if I did…” “I COULD fix that problem, but if I did THIS better thing wouldn’t happen.” Did Peter realize that IF Christ had done what He COULD, PETER’S sin wouldn’t have been paid for on the cross? The cross HAD to happen. And for the cross to happen, the God that COULD had to NOT!
I want to be able to trust God in ALL of life’s situations, knowing that He COULD, but also trusting in the “but if”.
Trusting,
Jeff
