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If I Could Do It All Over Again (1)
Do you have any regrets about yesterday? That was such a short time ago, you probably readily remember what you thought, said, or did. It does seem as though the older you are, the more you regret. The regrets often turn into wishes that you could have done differently…if only you had the chance. Hindsight is so clearly seen at 20/20.
What do you do about those things you regret?
Does a Christian have an easier time handling regrets than those who are not living by faith?
In scripture, some had a chance to make a “turnaround,” like the son in Matthew 21.28-32, the wasteful son in Luke 15.11-32, or Peter in John 21.15-18, who had a “second chance” to express his love for Jesus after having denied Him. However, others did not repent or take advantage of a “second chance,” like Judas, who threw down the 30 pieces of silver he received for betraying Jesus. He “went and hanged himself” (Matthew 27.3-5). The door of repentance was shut forever.
Having regrets, what do you do with them?
Bury them. People say, “Bury the past.” However, the past is like Night of the Living Dead. It haunts us. What we did or did not do does not “go away” with the setting of the sun. We do not want to face our failures. We do not want to see what we did replayed in video form. We push it away. We should then meditate upon Proverbs 28.13: “He that covereth his transgressions shall not prosper: but whoso confesses and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy.
Blame others. Adam and Eve did it (Genesis 3). King Saul had his faults pointed at the people (1 Samuel 15.15,21). Proverbs 19.3 says, “When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord.” Our regrets and sorrows seem to be proudly laid at the feet of others.
Beat up self. If others are not readily available in our mind, we step on ourselves. A person will daily punish him- or herself with condemning words: “I can’t do anything right.” It’s all my fault.” “I’ll never forget the pain I caused.” “I should have listened.” “I should have never…” “If only…” “What if…” Such personal condemnation sometimes leads to the ultimate self-punishment - suicide.
There are some who have regrets and adopt this philosophy: “Everything happens for a reason, so there is no point in having regrets.” Should you take this view about sin and place sin as a normal offense or neglect to casually “shake it off?” Are we to behold the past and place what was done as “insignificant,” especially as it involves our relationship with God? Consider David: Would he have been better off to just cast aside his sin with Bathsheba? Think about Peter: Should his denial of the Lord have been carelessly viewed as “a lesson learned; a bad mistake?” Is this what we do?
How did these people in scripture mentioned above handle regret? The answer to this question brings relevance to some of the most often asked questions, like: “Did the people in the Bible have the same struggles I have?” “Did they have the same regrets?” “Did they make the same kind of mistakes, and if so, what did they do with them?”
A Common Thread
As a person reads the Bible, he or she may look at those people in scripture as supernatural people. Only one in scripture ever was supernatural - Christ. All of the rest were humans. They had regrets accompanied with sorrow, pain, and guilt, just like we do. The reasons for their regrets are the same reasons for us.
We are drawn to selfish obedience. We go our own way rather than choosing God’s way. “There is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3.10). We are drawn to sin, just as Adam and Eve were drawn to it. We would not sin if we did not like it. It is the choice we prefer over what God prefers for us.
We pick the pain of discipline. Everyone will pick either self-control, which yields the great fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12.11), to train our hearts toward holiness, or we choose our own way over the favor of God. When we choose our own way, we experience the pain of the consequences of sin. Choices bringing regret is not resolved by a simple “I’ll do better next time.” Because regret is such a big problem, it takes a huge remedy: The blood of God’s own Son, Jesus Christ.
Redemption for all regrets. Isaiah 53.6 helps us see that our regret requires such an extraordinary means of recovery: “We have turned everyone to his own way.” The cost of the regret is that “…Jehovah hath laid on him (Christ) the iniquity of us all.” God’s eternal wisdom knew the regret which would come from our sin. His desire from before the creation of the world was to provide a redemption that reaches down and pulls us up out of the gutter of despair from our regrets and sets our feet on the Rock - Jesus.
Next:
The One Spiritual Action Toward Removing Regret
