How many of you out there have regrets?
Do you know anyone who doesn't?
I think it must be rare indeed to find someone
who doesn't regret their actions, or a relationship,
or some words they hastily spoke.
In the long run, it gives us hindsight, we learn
valuable and hard lessons from our mistakes.
But it is those mistakes, if we allow them to,
that build great character within us.
A dear Pastor I listened to for years once preached
on this, and said the greatest way to avoid regrets
was to pray before we make major decisions. To seek
God first. Do you hear this taught much anymore?
Most people don't want to hear this! They like being
in control. But if you step back and look at your life
for a minute, you will realize, (especially looking at the past)
that you are in control of so very little.
And it is noteworthy to mention, that when you
were in control was when you made the mistakes!
You thought you could handle everything on your own,
and you did not allow Christ to be Lord of your life!
This was a very hard lesson for me. When my daughters
were growing up, I was a single Mom for a long time.
I had to work so hard to raise my kids, long hours,
and very little time to myself. I am sure along the way
I missed many important times with them, many things
they wanted to share with me, and perhaps, I did
some things I should not have. I grew up while
they were growing up, and I learned from trial and
error, with very little help from those around me.
It was not a easy time in my life, or theirs.
For a long time I beat myself up over this. Especially
after they all moved out and made their own lives.
I was in absolute internal agony about my mistakes.
Then one day, I realized how displeasing it must
be to God for me to spend my time living in the past,
filling my heart with useless regrets I can do nothing
about, and making my focus my failures.
Do any of you think you might be focusing
too much on what you did wrong, rather than
what you can do with your time now?
My friends, are you clinging to regrets?
Do you hate yourself? I talk to many who seem to.
What does it profit you to hate yourself?
Does it make the relationships you have now happy?
I mean if you are living in the past, how can you
enjoy the present?
Dwelling on the past, living in regret, focusing
on our failures does one major thing: It creates
depression and a sense of failure that will not leave.
It clings to us like cancer. It weighs us down like
we are carrying the world on our shoulders. It blocks
us from enjoying our current relationships, because
we cannot even trust ourselves.
Oh precious friends, don't live your life in regret!
I spent so much time doing this. It is over. The past
is the past. We cannot go back and retrieve our mistakes,
fix broken relationships, and take back hasty words or
actions. But we can apologize, learn from them, make
decisions not to do it again, and MOVE ON.
Moving on means a willingness to let go. Some of you
might like being miserable and wouldn't know what
to do with yourself if you let go. You are so used
to being depressed, worn out, hating yourself,
being bitter, that a new life, free of all this would
scare you. You might have to do something new
and get out of your psychological and spiritual rut!
Would you like to be free of your regrets?
Would you like to feel better about yourself?
You can!
It starts by confessing our sins, our past, our mistakes
to Christ. Ask His forgiveness. (And really receive it!)
Secondly, ask forgiveness of those you have hurt.
If you are not in touch with them, and do not know
where they are, write a letter to them, and just tear
it up afterwards, but it will give you a chance to apologize.
If someone has died and you cannot talk to them, write
them a letter, it is very healing.
Then, forgive yourself, as Christ as forgiven you.
Don't live a life of regret. You only have this one
precious life. You have people who need you NOW.
God has work for you NOW. Until you let go,
you will be ineffective in almost every area of your
life because your burdens are too heavy, your thinking
too weighed down by your own mistakes.
Good news, we all have failed. We all make mistakes.
But today is a new day, a new chance, a clean slate
yet to be written on. Christ has a new life for you!
Cast aside those things which do not profit,
and receive that which is good. Forgive everyone,
even if they don't seem sorry or even if they
didn't ask.
Forgive yourself for your mistakes. If God can forgive you,
how dare you not forgive yourself? It is like you
are making his forgiveness seem invalid.
As if our prayers were meaningless.
Don't you want to be free? Think about it.
I love you and want to see you succeed and be free.
Read these, let them change your mindset. Let go
of what you did wrong, and start a new life, while you
have time. Do not waste one more minute on things
that weigh you down or do not profit.
Therefore, if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ,
the Messiah, he is a new creature altogether,
a new creation; the old previous moral and spiritual
condition has passed away. Behold the fresh and
the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17
You have a new life in Christ ... are you living like you do?
As far as the East is from the West, so far has He
removed our transgressions (sin) from us.
Psalm 103:12
If he removed them, and forgave us, why are we
taking them back on ourselves?
In whatever our hearts in (tormenting) self-accusation
make us feel guilty and condemn us. For (we are in
God's hands); He is above and greater than our
consciences, our hearts and He knows (perceives
and understands everything -- nothing is hidden to Him.
And beloved, if our consciences (our hearts)
do not accuse us -- if they do not make us feel
guilty and condemn us -- we have confidence
and complete assurance and boldness before God.
1 John 3:20-21
So, in other words, if we repent, ask forgiveness
our conscience is clean. When we receive it back
it is as if we never confessed it. But when we let
go, and truly forgive ourselves and receive the forgiveness
of Christ, we have assurance and boldness in Him
to pray and know that it is done. That we are loved,
we are His child, we are forgiven, and we have
power and strength and hope and guidance in and
through His precious grace and love for us.
Remember there is no fear in love -- dread does not
exist; but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns
fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For
fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and so he
who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of
love -- he has not yet grown into love's complete
perfection.
1 John 4:18
We do not need to receive fear or dread or self
condemnation. For God has not given us a spirit
of fear or dread, but of Love, Power and a Sound Mind.
So, tonight my precious friends you have a new
chance to start over. Pray ... seek God, ask for His
forgiveness, and his precious help to let go of the past
and start over, learning from that which we did,
and moving on to a new life in Christ.
love always
millie
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Regret City
author unknown
I had not really planned on taking a trip this time of year, and yet I found
myself packing rather hurriedly. This trip was going to be unpleasant and I
knew in advance that no real good would come of it. This is my annual
"Guilt Trip."
I got tickets to fly there on "WISH-I-HAD" airlines. It was an extremely
short flight. I got my "baggage," which I could not check. I chose to carry
it myself all the way. It was loaded down with a thousand memories of "what
might have been."
No one greeted me as I entered the terminal to the Regret City
International Airport. I say international because people from all over the world come to this dismal town. As I checked into the "Last Resort" Hotel, I noticed that
they would be hosting the year's most important event -- the annual "Pity
Party."
I wasn't going to miss that great social occasion. Many of the towns
leading citizens would be there. First, there would be the "Done" family; you know,
"Should Have," "Would Have" and "Could Have." Then came the "I Had" family.
You probably know old "Wish" and his clan. Of course, the "Opportunities"
family; "Missed and Lost," would be present. The biggest family there would
be the "Yesterday's."
There are far too many of them to count, but each one would have a very sad
story to share. Of course, "Shattered Dreams" would surely make and
appearance. "It's Their Fault" family would regale us with stories
(excuses) about how things had failed in their life. Each story would be loudly
applauded by the "Don't Blame Me" and "I Couldn't Help It" committee.
To make a long story short, I went to this depressing party, knowing full
well there would be no real benefit in doing so. And, as usual, I became
very depressed. But as I thought about all of the stories of failures
brought back from the past, it occurred to me that this trip and
subsequent "pity parties" COULD be canceled by ME!
I started to realize that I did not have to be there. And I didn't have
to be depressed. One thing kept going through my mind, I CAN'T CHANGE
YESTERDAY, BUT I DO HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE TODAY A WONDERFUL DAY. I can be happy, joyous, fulfilled, encouraged, as well as being encouraging.
Knowing this, I left Regret City immediately, and didn't leave a forwarding
address. Am I sorry for mistakes I've made in the past? YES! But there is
no way to undo them.
So, if you're planning a trip back to Regret City, please cancel all those reservations now. Instead, take a trip to a nice place called: "Starting Again."
I like it so much that I made it my permanent residence. My neighbors, the
"Been Forgiven" and the "We're Saved" are so very helpful. By the way, you
don't have to carry around the heavy baggage anymore either. That load is
lifted from your shoulders upon arrival. Just thank God for salvation.
If you need directions, just look into your heart, and enter by "Grace
Way." No taxes or other cost. God's Son paid the price, in full, for all sins
and transgressions, a long time ago. Look me up if you're ready for a total
change in your life. I now live on "His Will Way."
Sincerely, "Born Again."
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