I have to say, I think, I began dealing with this around the age of 30 something...maybe earlier. What triggered it was just things not going right. Things not happening or in place as I had imagined it would be. My sister’s death caused me to regret not going to see her her last day on earth. I think that if I had, she’d probably still be alive. I may have been able to talk her out of not going out with her so-called “best friend.” Yes, God forgive me but I’m still bitter about that. Later blog for this. I regret the road I took in attending universities or not attending one I should have. Maybe life would have been better. I regret the people I allowed to enter my life. Maybe I would not have been such a fool for them...so trusting...well, one person I allowed because I looked at her as my “little sister” but she only turned out to be...well, I want to keep myself in the right frame of vocab so I’ll just end that. I just should not have allowed her in. I allowed men to enter my life (not a lot but even one was enough) who meant me no good. Ok, so that’s enough of that list (smile).
SO, I sit here, typing away, thinking about these REGRETS. What do I have to show for it? Some pain. Feeling of worthlessness. Hurts. Sorrow. Oh, the list can go on. Do I allow this feeling to remain?
NOOOO.
Now, what shall I really do with the REGRETS that appear every now and then? Here’s my remedy and it has worked for me everytime. I turn it all over to the Lord.
In the book of 1 Peter 5:7 it reads that we should cast all of our cares or anxieties on Jesus because He cares for us. Now, regrets bring about anxiety and worry because we’re thinking about what should’ve been and what we can not change: the past. Psalm 68:19 (NIV) says to praise GOD “...who daily bears our burdens.” Galatians 6:2 (NIV) reads that we should “Carry each other’s burdens…” meaning that if we use wisdom, we can help counsel, encourage and pray for our friends, family or acquaintances who confide their regrets to us. There’s a Christian song with the verse that sings, “Nothing is wasted...in the hands of the Redeemer…”. Joel 2:25 (KJV) speaks of restoration from the “cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm…”. GOD can make our “...latter days better than the former…” this can be found in Job 8, 42 (although He was speaking to Job, we can apply it to ourselves); Proverbs 19:20 and on and on.
John 16:33 (AMP) speaks of Jesus giving us “perfect peace and confidence.” This is what salvation is about as well. Peace and confidence to know that we have made the most important correct decision ever and that is to choose Jesus and heaven; rejecting hell and Satan’s false way of “living” because if we remain in sin, we aren’t really living but dying. GOD doesn’t want us to harp on the past. He wants us to look to a glorious future. He knows the plans He has for us (Jer. 29:11) and if I want to know, I have to stay focused, talk to Him about my thoughts and concerns then see where He takes me. I know He’ll tell me some things too. So, if you’re having this problem as well or you’re trying to keep it at bay, talk to the Lord about it daily. Stay focus on the good things that has happened, will happen and is happening. As Joel Osteen has said, “Jesus will take you places that you’ve never dreamed of” (if you’re living for Him that is).
Whew! this was a long one. :-)
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