Would Have

 We read a lot about all the things God did. I have never heard anyone talk about the "would haves."

2 Samuel 12:8:

God reminded David about all the things He had given him and done for him, and told him that if he had just asked, God WOULD HAVE done more.

But that never happened. Why not?

Psalm 81:16

God told Israel he WOULD HAVE given them honey out of the rock.

But that never happened. Why not?

Matthew 23:37

Jesus told Jerusalem He had come to do more, and He WOULD HAVE.

But that never happened. Why not?

There are more, but that shows the point. There are things God very much WOULD HAVE done. There were things He was willing to do that people did not see Him do. Why? Human flesh.

David took what was not his to take, in spite of the fact God had done so much for him. Israel was too focused on whining their way through the wilderness than keying in to the nature of God, who had shown Himself to provide what they needed. Israel wanted a conquering warrior to free them from Roman rule. They were less than impressed with this suffering Savior, who chose "no beauty that any should desire him" (Isaiah 53:2).

Flesh. Every time. "I want. I want. Me, me, me." What about what GOD wants?

I think a lot of people have failed to see that God WILL, many times LET you choose an option that is not His option. He will LET you cave to your flesh and go 100 mph toward the brick wall. He will LET you marry the wrong person. He will LET you take the wrong job. He will LET you spend your time getting smashed in the bars, slinking in the nightclubs, fornicating, spending your life in debauchery. He will LET you walk the other way and design a life of your own choosing. He will LET you be a jerk. But there is a price tag.

There comes a day that the unlimited ATM of life runs out. You will go to make the choices you always made, assuming God was consenting and blessing the choice (due to no immediate fallout ... Psalm 50:21), but in a moment, it will not end the way it used to. Just because God does not act in judgment or strike you on the spot, does not mean He did not mean every word of every warning.

One day, it just is not about the fallout of not choosing Jesus, not taking the hits for choosing the narrow path of obedience. It is also missing out on all the wonderful things God WOULD HAVE done, if you had just been willing to submit to His plan instead of your own. Your way, I PROMISE YOU, ends very, very badly. Choose His way. Fast. Don't be stuck in the land of Would Haves.