Have you ever heard anyone say that I have lived my life the way I wanted and have absolutely no regrets? If you have this must have been a very contented person and left no stone unturned. Most of the time when someone is on their death bed you will hear them say I wish I had taken more time to do… or I wish I had done so and so.
Life is short and many people have desires to do certain things but they are always putting them off until tomorrow. For many, tomorrow never comes and they leave this earth with unfilled dreams.
When my wife and I first married, I was in the Air Force and stationed in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We had aspirations of snow skiing since neither of us had ever tried it before. Being in Colorado over the winter, ample opportunities came and went for us to ski; however, we kept putting it off and eventually we moved back to our home state. We did say that one day we would come back and visit this beautiful state again and snow ski, but as fate would have it we have not done this as of yet. Our dream of nearly 50 years ago has not been fulfilled and now I am much older and way out of physical condition to try this sport.
My regret of not skiing does not even compare to those that have past memories of something they are not proud of. My regret is not even close to someone who has or had problems with family, friends, or others and simply would not put aside their pride and go to these people to resolve the issues between them.
Many have unconfessed sin and are not willing to let go of worldly ways and confess these sins to God. For the ones of us that know Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are convicted by the Holy Spirit of these sins and all we have to do is go to our knees and ask forgiveness from the Lord. For those that have problems with people around us for something said that hurt us or them, we need to go to these people and make things right. Even if we are on the receiving end of the hurt, shame, or disagreement, we can be the bigger person and approach the one that hurt us to correct the issue.
The prince of the earth, Satan, is always lurking around and will do anything to keep us from being happy in the Lord. One of the biggest ways he attacks us is through regret. Regret gets to us mentally and if we allow it to it will become a devastating monster. We have to keep it in check and we can do this by staying in God’s Word and talking to God daily. We need to remember what 1 Peter 5:8 tells us; “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
I hope that all of us are contented when we leave this earth. For me, if I never go snow skiing, so be it. I have had a wonderful life. For the ones that have unsolved problems with family or friends, go today and resolve it. For those that have unconfessed sins go to your knees and ask forgiveness from God. For those that are ashamed of things you did in your past, let it go, and remember that today is the first day of the rest of your life.
PRAYER
Thank you Lord for the joy and contentment that you have allowed me to have in my life. I give you all the praise and glory for all that I have had the pleasure of doing and seeing. Amen.
Suggested Readings
Sunday – Sunday – 1 John 1:8-10
Monday – Psalm 34:4-7
Tuesday – Philippians 3:12-14
Wednesday – Proverbs 15:12-17
Thursday – 2 Timothy 4:6-8
Friday – Isaiah 43:18-19
Saturday – 2 Peter 2:4-11
