HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 286
page A284
Regrets continued
• PSA L M 3 0 :1 1 | You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away
my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy.
Let your regrets draw you closer to God. Don’t let them pull you away from God. He wants
to take your burdens from you and restore your relationships with him and others. Don’t
create the biggest regret of your life—withdrawing from God. No matter what you’ve done,
he welcomes you with loving arms.
• R O MA NS 8 :2 8 | And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of
those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Remember that God has the ability to turn bad into good. He can use even the things you
regret to accomplish his will.
• L U K E 1 5 :1 8 | I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both
heaven and you.”
• MAT T H E W 1 8 :2 1 -2 2 | Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive
someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but
seventy times seven!”
• R O MA NS 4 :6 -8 | David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who
are declared righteous without working for it: “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience
is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord
has cleared of sin.”
R
HelpFinder
Sin always brings regret because it damages the relationships most important to you.
Sometimes it is your own sin that has caused the problem, and sometimes it is the sin of
others against you. In either case, the sin has caused a deep rift in the relationship and
you are left facing conflict, separation, loneliness, frustration, anger, and other emotions. Confessing your sin to God and others and seeking forgiveness is the only way to
give your heart a chance to start over. Forgiving others of their sin against you also gives
you the chance for a fresh start. Forgiveness is the glue that holds friendships together.
It doesn’t take away the regret, but it changes your perspective from regret to restoration. It keeps you focused on the healing that can happen in the future rather than on the
wounds that you received in the past.
How can I avoid regrets in the future?
• MAT T H E W 7 :1 2 | “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.”
When you treat others the way you like to be treated.
• 2 C O R I NT H I A NS 1 :1 2 | We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have
lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings.
• 1 P E T E R 3 :1 6 -1 7 | Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be
ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it
is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!
When you follow your conscience and always try to do what is right.
• MAT T H E W 2 7 :3 | When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been
condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. (See note on page 891.)
When you think through the full consequences of your decisions in advance. Judas’s selfdestructive regrets were caused by a combination of selfishness and a failure to consider
the full consequences of his decision.
• J U DG E S 1 1 :7 | But Jephthah said to them, “Aren’t you the ones who hated me and drove
me from my father’s house? Why do you come to me now when you’re in trouble?” (See note
on page 228.)
When you treat all people with the grace, mercy, and kindness that God intended.
• 1 T H E S S A L O NI A NS 5 :22 | Stay away from every kind of evil.
When you stay away from the places and people who tempt you to sin.
• PSA L M 1 :1 -2 | Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand
around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.