Letting Go Of Regrets

Romans 8 : 28 – 30, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called;… NKJV

Do you have any regrets in your life? Are there things that you have done in your past that, if you were given a second chance, you would gladly do differently? We all have issues in our lives from our past that can cause us guilt, shame, and regret. Let me ask you a more important question about the mistakes of your past. Have you repented and asked the Lord to forgive you? If so, then today’s word is customized just for you.

As bad as we dislike and might hate the regrets of our past, there’s one thing that we can take from those hard knocks. If we learned from them and allowed God to use them to reveal wrong in our hearts and they brought us into a closer walk with Him, then they were good character building blocks. From time to time, I speak to older people that live much of their present lives caught up in the regret of the mistakes of their past.

For some reason, they allow that regret to cause them to dwell on their past instead of learning from their past and moving forward in Christ. Many elderly people who have lived their lives dwelling on the past have passed away and never completed all that the Lord had for them to experience while they were alive… they died filled with shame and regret.

The Holy Spirit instructed me to write this word today specifically for you. He doesn’t want you live with regret over the past or dwell in the past. Why? Because faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. God wants His children to be alive and live with the hope of a brighter future. Yesterday will always be darkened by the brilliance of the hope of a brighter tomorrow.

Why is this so? As long as we refuse to hold onto our past, and we don’t  allow it to rule our tomorrows, then we are constantly being changed from faith to faith and from glory to glory. The Holy Spirit is continually at work in our lives and using our decisions to teach and grow us up into the image of Jesus Christ.

Do you know that, as a Christian, there is a calling on your life? Most Christians tend to think of “a calling” as something that compels people to go into full time ministry. This couldn’t be further from the truth. We are ALL called to live according to and fulfill the purposes of God in this new life that we have been blessed to experience.

In the passage above, Paul didn’t limit calling to ministry, in fact, that word doesn’t appear in the verse. We are all called according to the purpose of God for our lives. As a child of God, this is your new destiny in Christ Jesus. It’s no longer about how you want to live your life, but what God has already planned for your life.

Let me share something to help you in your daily decision making. Many Christians live in a state of regret, because they don’t include the Lord in their daily decisions. Too many times when we operate our lives according to this philosophy and blow it, then we will go to the Lord in regret and invite Him to help us fix our mistakes. This isn’t profitable or beneficial if you plan to live a healthy spiritual life.

The mindset that I have described is one that adds God to our plans as an afterthought; this violates the commandment of God that tells us that we are to love Him more than anyone or anything. God doesn’t want to be an appendage to our daily routine; When He is in the center of your heart, He will appear in the center of your decisions. Will that prevent you from making future mistakes? No, but it will take the sting of regret out of your life, because you made the Lord the centerpiece of your decision making process, and His love will cover your mistakes or sins.

One final thought: Look at the pain, regret, and shame from you past and ask yourself an honest question. Is my past holding me back from enjoying and experiencing the blessings of God in my present and having hope for my future? If it is, let me leave you with this statement. The regret of leaving God out of a decision that later causes you serious regret will be nothing compared to a life that is lived without God being in the center of it all. One day all of us will stand before the Lord and give an account for those things that we have done, whether good or evil.

Also, we will have to give an account for those things that God called us to fulfill while on the earth but were dismissive of them. We will be rewarded in heaven based on our obedience to His calling here on earth. If you haven’t already done so, make the decision today to place the Lord in the center of your decisions and desires. The result will be a life that is fulfilling and not filled with regrets. Now go out there, and let’s change this world for our Christ.

Looking Unto Jesus,

Pastor Asa