No one is perfect. The only perfect human life ever lived was done so by Jesus Himself. We all have done things we weren’t proud of; we all have regrets in some form or another, we all have sinned. In our fallen world, this is just part of the human condition. That’s precisely why we need a Savior found in Jesus.
The Apostle Paul, not a stranger to bad behavior in his past, said this in a letter he wrote to the church in Philippi.
Philippians 3:12-13: “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead” (NLT).
Paul was determined to look forward and forget the past. But how do we deal with the regrets from our past? It can be extremely challenging to shake them off and embrace the clean slate we’ve been given.
There are a couple of things that we must do. First, if the thing we have come to regret has hurt another person and we have not made amends, we must do so. In Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus speaks on the importance of this:
“So, if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God” (NLT).
Taking this step of obedience and making amends as Jesus teaches, will bring healing to both of your hearts, and liberate you of any regret you face as you confront it and let it go.
Next, it’s all about a change in perspective. Ask God to help you to put your trust completely in Him and His promise of eternal life through Jesus. You have true, complete, and total freedom in Him.
Embrace that freedom and walk forward boldly in it. Use it to make your impact on those around you and God’s everlasting Kingdom!
You can write the Pastor at pastorbilly@findtruelife.com.