Resources/Articles
If I Could Do It All Over Again (3)
Regrets are terrible. They do not only ruin a day, they can ruin a life. They affect your heart, your future, and your influence. Your desire for good works is absent, failures may increase, depression might be overwhelming, and all you seem to think about is what you wish you could change or do over again.
Life teaches us many lessons. Hindsight is 20/20 and helps us see them all.
When a regret is removed with repentance, confession, and reconciliation, what is next? What is next is what can be passed on from you to someone else as a preventative measure. Trying to decrease the possibility of the same regret from reaching the heart of someone is a good use of your time. Therefore…
Think Before We Act
Rather than thinking about the past, the greatest lesson to learn and pass along to others in order to avoid regret is to think before we act. In order for that to happen, our thinking needs to have acquired knowledge and understanding of the godly and right things to believe and practice. In the words of Titus 2.11-12: “For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation unto all men, instructing us to the intent that, denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world.” We also need to know what to think from Philippians 4.8: “Whatsoever things are TRUE, whatsoever things are HONORABLE, whatsoever things are JUST, whatsoever things are PURE, whatsoever things are LOVELY, whatsoever things are of GOOD REPORT…” Thinking like this provides our actions with the right direction without looking back in regret. WHY?
The most common statement a person makes in speaking of their regret is, “I wasn’t thinking before I said it” or “I didn’t think before I did it.” We regret not only the attitude and action, we regret failing to think right. To say “I didn’t think…” does not justify wrong behavior or reverse what we regret. It places more importance upon the need to THINK as God would have us think. The trouble is, with everything around us going so fast, people do not take the time to think. There are so many concerns crowding in on us. We do not have time to meditate. We are too rushed in and out of activities. We forget about the need to make escape plans from temptations and welcome them instead (1 Corinthians 10.12-13). We may not even think where we are will place us in a problem situation and cause us to make unwise decisions (Genesis 39.1-23). We immediately make our decisions as fast as our daily pace takes us, then we regret what we did or failed to do. God said, “Redeem the time for the days are evil” (Ephesians 5.15-16). Instead of being fast and hasty and without thought, walk with caution and care. Think first.
Also, forget thinking, "I don’t have enough time to recover from all the time I’ve lost” or “I have plenty of time to get things done.” Think about what you can do today to fulfill a good work for God. Have that thought each day. Don’t feel like you will accomplish everything in one day - you probably will not. Part of faithfulness and perseverance is staying consistent in godly works.
Consider these statements some have passed along as lessons of faithfulness and consistency, the most important of which come from God:
“Love the Lord thy God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Luke 9.27
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
Ephesians 2.10
“Only one life; twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
Nancy DeMoss
“I better come to grips with what I believe. I have since moved from the agony of questions that I cannot answer to the reality of answers that I cannot escape.”
Dennis Rainey
“How to stand tall in a depraved world…if you’re not willing to be different - to stand out from your culture, you will never, ever be a true follower of Jesus and impact your world.”
Josh McDowell
Part of our thinking need not be filled with excuses and procrastination. This is where many of our regrets originate. We fill our thinking with all the excuses for why we did not do what we should and wish we had. Some even take time, which could be filled with good works, and think about how others have prevented us from doing good or caused them to do something which they regret. The wise man said, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4.23). What I am thinking should be done, and should I fail to do, it could be sin (James 4.17). No one can legitimately excuse that away.
If you could do it all over again and avoid future regret, start where you are and go forward, thinking before you act.
