40 Days to Lasting Change Day 11
Let Go of Regret
There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life set you free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1–2
With awakening often comes regret. Once our eyes are opened to the wake of pain trailing behind us, it’s normal to think, what have I done? It’s easy to see how the Prodigal Son would have felt such regret, but what about the father? What memories haunted him? What scenes replayed in his head of happy times past and moments he wished he could change? On those long, bleak days of mourning his son’s departure and waiting for his unlikely return, this patriarch must have asked the universal questions of a parent: What could I have done differently? How could I have stopped him? Where did I go wrong? (Idleman, Kyle. 40 Days to Lasting Change: An AHA Challenge (pp. 80-81). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.)
We can look back to learn but we can’t look back to live. God is in the redeeming and restoring work. Our future isn’t a God problem, it’s a self-problem. There’s that moment when suddenly, we see where we are and where we could be, and our enemy brings all the guilt and regret to bear down on our minds to keep us in the past. Nothing is more powerful than the power of unforgiveness. Refusing to receive God’s forgiveness and to forgive ourselves, we are, stuck in the puddle of the past. The questions about the past can be answered later. Right now, we must focus on the future. It’s time to get up out of the puddle of pain and head back to the Father’s house. It’s time to rise out of that rocking chair or regret and run outside looking for tomorrow. Yeah, take those regrets to redeemer and receive some instruction about the rest of this day and this life.
From the Kitchen Table 