Regret in the Rear View Mirror

September 22, 2011 rom815

Regret: to think of with a sense of loss. Regret is often an ugly word to those who want to live with hope, purpose and passion. The highway of life is littered with regret. As we go forward building families, working our careers, stewarding life giving relationships, etc we see littered across our path the disgarded dreams and aspirations of others. The litter may not be ours, but the litter of regret speaks to us. It taunts us and before long we can be more focused on regret than we are promises. I feel this way sometimes. I have tasted the bitter herb of disappointment and loss. Believe me, it's very bitter. It's a taste that lingers, but only until I choose to stop and taste the goodness of God and his plan for my life. Sometimes that goodness comes through prayer, contemplation, surrender or praise. Othertimes it comes to be through my kids, wife, friends, a book, a good movie, etc. I am not old by any stretch of the imagination. I have a great deal of living to do and I plan to do it, but I recognize moments in my life where regret is more in my windshield than in my rear view mirror. This was most evident a few days ago, while in the middle of a pity party God began to speak to me about Jeremiah 29:11 [1]. I love this verse, but I often think of it in regards to something you see framed on a person's wall. It's a verse that makes for great art. My perspective minimized the power of this promise. God interuptted my pity party and began to show me gifts worth celebrating. This verse states, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." I meditated upon this promise and I want to share a few of the gifts in several entries:

#1. God is present future. He has dealt with past failure and past successes are not my dwelling place, but prophetic forecasts of what is possible. God does not dwell in my past and scratch his head with respect to my failures, sins or shortcomings, but instead He sees a version of me that I am maturing into. In Paul's letter to Colossee he writes, "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation." What an astounding declaration of truth!! God is not bound by time, and his infinite nature he reconciled us, purchased us from the place of being his enemy and as a result he has made us holy, spot free and liberated from the accuser and his lies. Regret is only powerful if you and I look at it and give it credibility. I hope you do not hear me stating that disappointment or hurt are not real. They are as real as you and I. But the power regret has is power that you have given it. Take it back. Do not empower regret, the feeling of loss to govern your life. Take it back by believing Jeremiah 29:11 [1] and Colossians 1:21-22 [2].

Until next time....