No Regrets

I read somewhere that the most wasted emotion is regret. It went on to say that one thing you have to understand about life is that  “you” made the best decision you knew to make at the time you made it. To wish you made different decisions based on what you know now is just wrong and a waste of time. I totally agree. How could you know what you know now without experiencing what you have been through? See what a waste of time that is?

This reminds me of what Philippians 3:13-16 (NIV) states:

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Forget about regret and just make better decisions now that you know better. According to the above text it is not only the right thing to do it is the spiritually mature thing to do. We are to build on what we know and share that wisdom.

Regret is a form of oppression. It keeps you from seeing the possibilities. Regret will color your attitude, your personality, your very presence in this world. Regretting things you can no longer do anything about can paralyze your mind and your actions. Regret will insidiously make you ungrateful. You begin to think that things cannot get any better and with that lack of belief it probably won’t. What is inside of you will determine what comes out of you and what you allow God to do in your life.

There were several quotes from the movie the Great Debaters that stuck with me. One was “man’s greatest weakness is unbelief”. If this is true then the best way to destroy a man’s future is to take away his hope. Regret does this. Another part of the movie that stuck with me is what the professor had his students recite over and over:

“Who is the judge?

The judge is God.

Why is He God?

Because He decides who wins or loses, not my opponent.

Who is your opponent?

He does not exist.

Why doesn’t he exist?

Because he is merely a dissenting voice to the truth I speak.

Speak the truth!

Beloved when that dissenting voice starts whispering in your ear speak the truth. God loves you and He has your back. Remember what Jesus says in John 10:10-11 KJV: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Have you lost a dream, a vision? Have things not turned out as you planned? Have you faced an unexpected crisis? If so it hurts and cuts you to your core. Most don’t understand the depth of your pain and loss. It is sometimes impossible to articulate the confusion and uncertainty you feel, especially when to others your answer seems to be easy and clear-cut. I get that. It’s not the answer you struggle with as much as the loss of that part of what you believed to be sure and true. I get that. It leaves you unstable and off-balance. I get that also.  But more importantly Jesus gets that and He gets you. He knows and cares about your pain. Jesus struggled with everything He was to go through on the way to and on the cross. On His way to the cross I’m sure it looked to others that all was lost.  But what most didn’t understand at the time and what He knew, was that the cross was the only way to save the lost. True, on the cross He died but on the third day He rose again. Sometimes it seems as though we have lost everything. Hold on. Morning comes. The night before may seem to last an eternity but just hold on, victory is yours. Ask Jesus. He won, so we win. The fight is fixed. The victory is yours through Christ. Don’t “allow” regret to rob you of your future because if you let it, it can. Remember regret is a wasted emotion. Look back only to learn. Look forward to grow.

I know of no other way to look forward and have hope than through my faith in Jesus and the assurance that He loves me and means me no harm.  My faith assures me He will fight my battles and go before me to make the crooked places straight.

Love Ms Wanda, GAC