Regret

<<remorse>>

Think before you speak, act or react as the consequences may have long-term effects on your life, bringing anguish and disappointment. Regret or remorse involves self-pity and anguish of spirit that does not necessarily lead to repentance, which is a turning from that pathway. Peter regretted denying Jesus, repented and moved forward into great things while Judas, although he regretted betraying Jesus, tried to correct the situation by his own actions and continued to make bad decisions (Mt 26:75, 27:3-5). “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Cor 7:10). A glib ‘Sorry’ to God is not effective – He wants to see a change of heart and lifestyle of obedience, walking in His ways.

Rather than looking back on your self-focused life with regret for the mistakes you have made and remorseful of the lost opportunities, lamenting, ‘if only I had…’, determine from here onwards to live for the Kingdom of God that will last forever. The more we adhere to

Endeavour to live without regrets

the Bible's instructions, the less we have to regret. However, in God’s grace and mercy, He has also provided a way to deal with regrets when we have not lived as wisely as He wants us to (Ps 51:1,2; 1 Jn 1:9). God declares, “Those who honour Him, He will honour, while those who despise Him will be distained” (1 Sam 2:30). In major decisions ask for advice and input from mature Godly people to confirm the guidance you believe you have received and most importantly maintain close contact with Him, and be obedient to His guidance so you will not have the mental anguish of having made unwise choices.

God was grieved that He had made humanity because of the bias to choose sin and death rather than relationship with Him (Gen 6:6). This does not mean that the Lord felt that He made a mistake in creating human beings, but that His heart was sorrowful as He witnessed the direction they were going. Since God knows everything beforehand, He already knew that sin would bring consequences, so He was not surprised by it (Job 37:16; Ps 139:2-4, 147:5; Isa 46:9-11; Eph 1:4; 1 Jn 3:19,20). Instead, this glimpse into God’s omniscient (all-knowing) character shows us that, even though He already knows we will sin, it still grieves Him when we choose it (Eph 4:30). However He took action, sending His son to liberate us from that bondage (Rom 8:21; Heb 2:14,15). Those who die without accepting Jesus will regret that decision for all eternity, yet no one will regret having Jesus as Saviour (Lk 13:28; Rev 1:7). Don’t live with regrets, take action to resolve them by repenting and ‘moving on’, trusting God for His leading (Phil 3:13).