Regret

Overcoming Regret . Regret, as per our knowledge, is something that either we or others have messed up.

And we have to learn to overcome it and face it, as it is not going to stop following us.

• The ancient Israelites regretted having fled from Egypt as slaves and blamed Moses for their desert malaise.

(They said, Things were much better in Egypt when compared to the life they were living in the Desert)

• It is quite interesting, The American revolutionary spy Nathan Hale famously regretted “having but one life to give” for his new nation.

(He regretted that he has only one life to give for his nation)

• Steven Jobs — regretted in a final interview that he had not been closer to his four children
• Missing a train – if we get late we regret that we should have got up a bit early in the morning.

And we can add our stories of Regret

Let us turn our bibles to .(Phil 3:13)

“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Paul says that , he forgets what lies behind but he stretches forward to what lies ahead.

                                                      Different ways we Regret:

1. Regret of our past actions:

We regret of some decisions or actions of our past where it is NOT completely forgotten.

It’s like we are reminded of it again and again.

2. Regret of something which we could have done better :

There are things which we feel that, we should have done better. May be its an interview, choices, exams etc

3. Regret of someone else’s Actions:

It is not our action or decision or choices, it is someone’s behaviour which really makes us sad and we regret about it.

4. Regret of something which others could have done better:

We have expectations from others and if those expectations does not meet, then there is a regret.

5. Regret of unforeseen Circumstances:

Circumstances which we never expected. Loss of lives or jobs and there is a vacuum in our heart  and we regret of those circumstances.

With all these we have to remind ourselves that

“We can’t change the past but we can ruin the present by worrying about the future”

It is our natural tendency to Regret when we read even God regretted

Genesis 6:6

• ⁶ The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.

I don’t sulk about my regret. Instead I lay that behind and work on what lies ahead.

Should I regret?   3 STEPS

Yes , it is a very good place to be in, as many times we DON’T Acknowledge our Past, but we need to Admit our failures, Change our Course. It is an act of Repentance.

It is an act of Acceptance and Acknowledge the realistic FACT and not the opinion.

Acts 22:20

²⁰ And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’

Paul talks about the killing of Stephen and he says that he is the one who is responsible for his killing. I need to acknowledge my decision, choices, action. Because many times we don’t even acknowledge our mistakes. It is the conviction, which only God can bring, that we need to be open to accept.

Secondly, we need to

Admit our failures and NOT blame:

Genesis 3:12

¹² The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

We blame circumstances, situations but not the decisions we have taken.

Thirdly we need to Change our Course:

We may acknowledge our decisions or actions, we may admit our failures but, if we don’t change the course then it is useless.

We repeat the same thing again and again

Let us look at the lives of 2 disciples

1. Peter: Realized that he was forgiven by the grace of God

LUKE 22:59-62

59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”

60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Peter tells Jesus that he would lay down his life for his Lord. Jesus responds by telling him that on that very night Peter would deny three times even knowing the Lord. Later that night, out of fear of losing his own life, Peter denied even knowing Jesus. After Peter’s denial of Christ, “he went outside and wept bitterly”

Peter must have lived with much shame and regret over his public denial of Christ, his deepened understanding of the person and work of Christ overcame his feelings of failure. He realized that he was forgiven by the grace of God, and he moved past his personal regret. It was Peter who was part of transfiguration. He was with Moses and Elijah

2. Judas: Stuck with the course

What is the difference between both of them?

Peter’s deepened understanding of the person and work of Christ overcame his feelings of failure.

This is what we have to learn . Over all our regrets , our deepened understanding of the person and work of Christ can overcome our feelings of failure. This is the only way to get out of it. Can we trust God over our failures this morning? Lets pray.

Virjil Selvan is Pastoring the New Hope Community. The New Hope Community is situated in the heart of the city between Old and New Panvel. We can confidently share that New Hope Community is a Church in Kamothe, Church in Khandeshwar, Church in Khanda Colony, Church in Panvel, Church in New Panvel because we are centrally located and these places surround our church Venue.