Since I began blogging over 5 years ago, I have learned a lot about how to write succinctly. Consequently, I have gone back and re-written and/or re-formatted some of my earlier posts; it's like getting a chance to start over. Don't I wish it were that easy in the real world. Is there anyone who never wished they could erase some part of their beginning and start again? But, there are no “do-over's” in “time.”
In the spiritual realm, however, we are not only promised
a new start, we are incited to it. After Paul promises us we can be “renewed” each day (2
Cor. 4:16), he urges us to “walk in newness” (Rom. 6:4). Jesus tells us to treat each day as new,
not looking back regretfully (Matt. 6:34; Luke 9:62). And this is better than a ‘do-over.’ “It means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become
a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Cor. 5:17). Don't allow yesterday's mistakes to infect your new day. (Col. 4:5)
Even if you’re not as old as I am, you may remember Frank Sinatra's “I did it My Way,” with the familiar line: “Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention.” Of course everyone knows no one can live without regrets. The Bible abounds with regretful people. ‘Regret’ is an unhealthy feeling of sorrow about something that one wishes could be different; and that kind of sorrow can control one's life.
In Paul’s 2nd letter to the Corinthians, he speaks of two sorrows: there is self-oriented sorrow (the result of unresolved regret); and there is a God-initiated sorrow (leading to repentance and freedom). “The kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads to salvation. And there's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death” (7:10).
Two disciples with the most to regret were Peter and Judas. Peter’s sorrow led to repentance. But Judas’ sorrow led to death. Certainly Jesus would have forgiven Judas had he repented! Or for that matter, Frank Sinatra, who could have sung, “Regrets, more than a few; but then again, no need to mention.”
Email regret occurs when you click "send" but wish you hadn't. In an angry impulse you fire off a hot email to your boss, colleague, friend, mother-in-law…well, you get the picture! And you can't un-send your message—it’s the 21st century version of “you can’t un-ring a bell.”
While it’s true there are no do-over’s in this life, it is not hopeless. Every one of your mistakes (sometimes referred to as sin) activates the ‘send’ button of God’s grace. “Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more” (Ro. 5:20)—as though an oceanic measure of God’s grace was being stored up so you will have “…grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16)
And how exactly does God’s grace effect your regretful un-do-over’s? Well, it doesn’t ‘un-ring the bell’ or ‘turn back the clock.’ But God’s grace effectively overwrites our mistakes: re-sending them to accomplish His purposes (Ro. 8:28). And this overwriting grace is so effective that you might think it was better that you made the mistake (even though it isn't!) There is no logical explanation for this phenomenon. It is simply grace. However, I must add one thing to the mix. The certainty of God’s grace is inexplicably connected to your responsible participation (sometimes referred to as repentance.)
“Many people are so concerned with adding days to their life that they forget to add life to their days.” (Anonymous quote)
As a counselor, I have observed that most people think more about the past and the future than the present, so that the Holy Spirit’s voice cannot be heard over the internal din of regret and worry.
Holy Spirit says “Today if you hear [My] voice, do not harden your heart…” (Psalm 95:7; Hebrews 3:7, 13, 15; 4:7), exhorting us to pay attention to what He wants to tell us TODAY lest we become dull in our hearing Him.
The devil has two strategies to keep you from your TODAY experience of hearing the Lord. He tries to get your thoughts focused on your yesterdays’ mistakes, and if that should fail, he will try to fill your head with anxious thoughts about the future.
Paul says “forget what lies behind.” Jesus says, “Do not be anxious for tomorrow.”
The Holy Spirit is calling us to live the divine principle called TODAY. Do not let your mind be occupied with the useless regrets of yesterday and the future things over which you have no control. They will undoubtedly keep you from hearing Him TODAY.
