We all have them…regrets.
We regret things we’ve done…
Things we’ve said…
Things we’ve thought.
Even our regrets are an aspect of being created in God’s image.
Genesis 6:6 (NIV)
6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.
The word regret here, according to Strong’s Concordance, means to sigh, groan or ease oneself.
God’s ‘regret’ wasn’t lamenting over a mistake He made, because He makes no mistakes, but rather His comforting Himself as He progressed with His plan that eventually led to man’s salvation.
God gave us every emotion for a reason…even those we consider negative.
He gave us anger to lead to passion in order to make positive change.
He gave us hate to have hatred for evil and sinful behavior…not people.
And, he gave us REGRET to be seeds to repentance rather than depression.
Sometimes when we think of those sinful, shameful, irresponsible or foolish things that we have said, done and thought, we can allow those thoughts to consume us. If we aren’t careful, they can lead to depression or isolation. They can lead to behavior that not only causes harm to ourselves, but also to those we love.
But, God gave us regret to help us avoid making the same mistakes.
USE YOUR REGRETS!
You can use your regrets to PROGRESS you rather than DEPRESS you.
Let your regrets lead to the Godly sorrow that leads to repentance…
2 Corinthians 7:10 (NKJV)
10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Even if you are dealing with the consequences of what you’re regretting, if God has given you breath in your body…that’s grace to make things right and avoid making the same mistakes again.
RECOGNIZE that you can’t go back in time and change what you regret.
REPENT of those thoughts, words, actions, and behaviors and avoid putting yourself in the positions or even frames of mind that would lead to repeating what you regret.
RESOLVE in your mind that you will not allow yourself to ‘go there’ again.
REJOICE in the fact that when you truly repent, that even if others haven’t, God has forgiven you and has given you grace to go on in peace.
Don’t let your regrets overwhelm or cripple you. Let them be brief, temporary moments that you use to make yourself better.
BE BLESSTIFIED!
BE BLESSTIFIED! 