“I Regret My Life Choices”

Who does not have those moments of saying, “if only?” “If only…I had finished school… taken that job rather than been afraid… not made those bad choices… left that relationship sooner… listened to better advice, etc.” We can often dwell in regret and find it hard to let go of the past.

Along with wistfulness or outright sadness about the past may be the thought, “I’ve missed it.  The chance I had to live a better way, a fuller life, contribute more, came and went.” This kind of thinking can fill you with pain and “stall” you.  You can get lost in backward looking self-disgust.

A movie about letting go of the past

We watched a movie the other night called “Bottom of the Ninth.” The lead character was a man who forfeited a promising baseball career and the hope of life-long love with a young woman he was dating. It happened when, in a fit of rage, as a 21-year-old, he got into a street fight and accidentally killed another young man. He went to prison for 17 years.

Once the man got out, he found his mind going back again and again to that night. It seemed his life was over.  He felt he simply had to release all dreams and just get by. He felt unending loss was all he could hope for.

God Redeems the Past

But God does not have endless regret as the plan for our lives.

For a long time, I used a daily study bible and in the front of it I had written a portion of this verse, 2 Samuel 14:14 NIV. It says this: “God devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.” I wrote that verse down and treasured it. The reason for this is that  I heard this in it: “When you mess up and you feel that you have moved away from God and you’ve missed ‘it’ – your golden opportunities – God is always seeking a way to bring you back, restore you, and help you thrive again.”

Redemption of the past in God’s heart

That is what I was hearing God say through His Word. It is what I believe is always in the heart of God – redemption. God is concerned with our overall, eternal redemption through Christ.  And He is also concerned with His plan for our earthly life – that we realize it and complete it here.

 

let go of the past

The Most Important Step in Having No Regrets

The most important choice we will ever make in this life is to receive the forgiveness that comes by faith in Jesus Christ. Surely the biggest regret is to someday face God – and we will – and find out we did not make the one decision that matters in order to live with God eternally. That decision is to believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. When we believe that and choose to follow Christ, we cross over from death into life. (John 5:24)

There are many Bible verses about being freed from regret.  Here are some about losing regret through repentance and salvation:

Three Bible verses on losing regret

“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret whereas worldly grief produces death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 NIV 

“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” Psalm 34:5 NIV

What do these verses tell us?

These three verses speak of repenting and looking to God for the salvation and new life that come only through Christ and His cross. When we take this step and continue to live our lives for God, our faces do become “radiant.”

And, they “are never covered with shame.” Regrets flee in the light of our new, cleansed life, and  transforming relationship with Christ. We can let go of the past.

Walking with Him is an adventure filled with feeling loved and accepted. We experience loving God and loving others, forgiving, sharing, contributing, and never perishing.

We Can Let Go of the Past

With the help of God, we can also let go of the past in this life and move on.  The beautiful thing about the heart of God is that He gives second chances, actually, many chances. His grace does not run out. When we fail for some reason, as we turn back to Him, seek His face and His heart, He does find ways to “restore the banished,” to bring us back.

In the Bible, God is quoted as saying, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten…You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.” Joel 2:25-26 ESV

God can heal your past completely

God can bring you back and erase every “if only.” He can make the past become the past, be settled and forgotten, as you trust in Him and start over.

I know many men and women like the man in the movie, “Bottom of the Ninth.” They are people who have lost years in drug addiction and/or prison. As they have come out, repented, given their lives to Christ, or returned to Him, and made the decision to be His steadfast followers, He has brought such redemption to them. The past gets left behind in the dust. Wonderful doors of hope and opportunity open up. That is the way of God.

This is so important to remember: Every part of what happens to you good and bad has a way of shaping you into who you ultimately become – from that “ugly duckling into a swan.” If you have made a mistake or grave mistakes, God can redeem you and redeem the time lost as you turn to Him. He can help you start over and “catch up” and even “zoom ahead” by His grace and favor. Trust Him that He makes all things new. (Rev. 21:5)

let go of the past

I would tell you the end of the movie, Bottom of the Ninth, but I do not want to spoil it in case you watch it! I will just say this, the ending is happy – full of redemption.

We can overcome too. Look to Jesus Christ and keep looking ahead. God is not counting our sins against us when we are truly sorry. Jesus came to give us life that is abundant (John 10:10) which begins now and goes on forever.

Sayings of Jesus about redemption

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” John 10:10 NIV

“For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them…” 2 Cor. 5:19 NLT

 

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