'HAD I KNOWN': LIVING WITHOUT REGRET
"Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders," Matthew 27:3.
For thirty silver coins, Judas Iscariot betrayed Christ. When he received his payment and saw that Jesus had been condemned, he became remorseful. Judas was so filled with regret, that he killed himself. Taking place at about the same time, we read of Peter denying Jesus before the crucifixion. First Peter confidently says: “......“Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Matthew 26:33. Yet that very night, Peter denied Him three separate times. "And he went outside and wept bitterly." Matthew 25:75. Peter made a promise, broke it and was sorrowful. He made a pledge, couldn't keep it and experienced regrets. Just like Judas, Peter betrayed the Son of God and his regret is evident; we read that he “wept bitterly.” Peter experienced a restoration. The Gospel of John chapter 21 verses 15 to 19 is the story of his reinstatement.
“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10.
The stories of Peter and Judas are clear examples of the difference between “godly sorrow” and “worldly sorrow.” One man’s sorrow led to death. The other’s led to salvation and life. That is the difference between worldly and godly sorrow. Regrets can be beneficial if they lead to repentance. And when they do, we must understand that God forgives us of our sins, and it is His desire that we now move forward into what He called us to do. That's godly sorrow. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and life. Godly sorrow leaves no room for regrets. But worldly sorrow is like that of a criminal getting caught breaking the law and made to suffer for it. They may be sorry they got caught, and regretful that they’re going to be in prison for a while, but it doesn’t lead to repentance. When he or she is out of the prison, they return to their criminal ways. With worldly sorrow, a person may admit an act was wrong without being sorry. Worldly sorrow is more concerned with avoiding the consequences of wrong doing or mistakes. With worldly sorrow, the sinner may try to hide his guilt. And if his sin is exposed, instead of changing, he may be angry.
Judas Iscariot experienced regret but not repentance. Regret and repentance are two different things. Regret is wishing something had never happened. Repentance is taking action to prevent something from happening again. Regret leads to remorse, but only repentance leads to change.
WE ALL HAVE REGRETS:
If there is a things that prevent us from reaching our glorious destinies and purposes, it is regrets. The word “regret” is defined as, “sorrow or grieving or distress over a desire unfulfilled or an action performed or not performed.” We all have regrets. None of us is perfect! There are actions we try to bury but keep coming back to torment us. Regrets can confine us in the past, consume our present, and incapacitate our future. It halt progress. Regret may be a prison. But we are our own jailers. Regrets leaves us questioning our decisions, judgement and character.
Regret occurs in two ways: things we regret we did and things we regret we didn’t do. Our lives are often filled with would have been, should have been, and could have been. Life's filled with many 'had I known' Perhaps you regret a decision you made in a haste. Maybe it's an opportunity lost. Perhaps you're studying the wrong course (or not studying at all!) Maybe you regret a word spoken or not spoken. Perhaps you were in a relationship which ended badly and now regretting what you could have done to make things right. Maybe you regret a job offer you didn’t take or the better job you left for the present one. Perhaps it's a message or a phone call in the moment of anger. Maybe you regret not being more bold. Perhaps its because you spread a gossip that hurt a relationship. Maybe you regret not saying yes to a good man that approached you for marriage and now it's the bad ones proposing. Perhaps it's not spending enough time at home with your family. You may be regretting the opportunities you've missed. Perhaps it's marrying the wrong person.
Every one of us has missed opportunities! But God's saying today, “I can restore the seasons, the times, the opportunities, and the years that you’ve lost.” Things may not have gone your way in the past, but God has new opportunities for you. Don’t let lost opportunities make you feel discouraged.
THE CHOICE IS YOURS:
God does not force man to choose. We have been given the freedom and the power to choose. It's your responsibility. Whatever or wherever you are is a product of the choices you made yesterday. The power to choose is a choice we make every day. To choose is to decide. Decision is the power and privilege of free selection. It's to select the best alternative. Choices indicates there are options. You have a choice today to change your present situation and to focus on the future.
The changes you require does not come on its own; it is mainly motivated by the decisions you make. Your choices will definitely make or mar your future. Your tomorrow will be determined by the choices you make today. The choices you make will make a world of difference between success and failure, joy and sorrow, peace and chaos, life and death! If you make the right choice, it will lead you to a right destination, but if you make the wrong choice, it leads you to a wrong destination. What choice are you making today? In fact, we all will face the three Cs of life: challenges, choices, and consequences. The choices you make can have a lasting effect upon your ministry, marriage, and family. The decision you make will to a great extent affect your level of happiness. God will show us the choice to make, but it is still up to us to act on that choice. We cast the decisive vote by what we do. We make our choices, and our choices will make us.
Today, God's asking us to let go of emotional pain and regret. He's asking us not to carry over yesterday mistakes, hurts, and failures into a new day. We must never allow our past to imprison the fulfilment of our glorious destiny. You can turn over a new leaf, and face the future with great hope. Every new day is a new beginning. Every new day is a new hope. Every new day is a new opportunity. This is the day that the Lord has made and it is a beautiful day.
Yet, many of us are not able to wake up to a new day and see its beauty because we let all the regrets, hurts, and so on cloud our eyes to see what God wants to do. “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18-19. God wants us to be washed clean from our mistakes! He wants us to learn, grow, and move forward. God wants us to live a whole new life in spite of our mistakes. He knows all that we have been through and are still going through but He does not want us to continue to live in the past. God has great things for us now and for our future but we will not receive them if we continue to allow what happened in the past to cloud our minds and hinders our focus.
You can wake up each day with an attitude that says “Today is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!” Every minute you spend regretting that choice you did or didn’t make is a moment that you could be making new choices—ones that could change your life from the better. Choose to leave the past behind! Choose to focus on your glorious future. You can press on.
HOW TO OVERCOME REGRET:
1. Choose repentance. Repentance means “to change your mind.”
2. Receive God's forgiveness. He's waiting to forgive, cleanse, and restore you. God will release you from the shame, regrets, and pain that come from your mistake so you don’t carry them around. Come to Him today. God wants to wipe the slate clean. You can receive God's forgiveness today.
3. Forgive yourself.
If God has forgiven you, then you need to forgive yourself. Refuse to let your mind dwell on that which is forgiven by God. You’re worthy of love. You're forgiven; forgive yourself.
4. Silence the accuser.
Satan is an enemy who loves to remind us of our sins, past and failures. Revelation 12:10. By accusing us he can get us to focus more on our failures than our Savior. His agenda is for us to regrets or wallow in self-pity. Hence, we must use the weapon of the Blood to silence him. Revelation 12:11. You can silence Satan’s accusations by turning to Christ's Blood.
5. Forget what lies behind. Philippians 3:13-14.
Paul intentionally refuse to focus on his past. We too should forget the past and focus on the future.
6. Turn regrets into thanksgiving. 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Romans 8:28.
When tempted to fall into the pit of regrets, turn it into worship, praise and thanksgiving.
7. Get back up. Ephesians 2:10.
No matter how much you have failed, God’s Word says He has good things for us. Get back up!
8. Live in the present. James 4:13-14
There are a lot of people who are living in the past. They are always looking back and haunted by what they did wrong in years gone by. Don't focus on regrets. Live for today. Live for the moment.
9. Lay hold of the future.
God has a race marked out for you to run. He wants you to run and not look back. Keep your focus on the goal. You do not need to be afraid of tomorrow, God's there with you to help you every step of the way.
"13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14.
THE ULTIMATE 'HAD I KNOWN'
We have a choice today! Everyone is presented with an opportunity to turn their lives around and come to God. It will be a tragedy to miss Heaven! In heaven, we’ll never again know regrets, pain, sorrow, or tears. Revelation 21:4. But hell is the opposite of Heaven. It is a place of punishment and regrets. The loudest cry in hell will be "Had I known I would have stopped sinning," "Had I known I would have been saved." Hell will be the scene of unending regrets, agony and torment.
Today, the door of salvation is wide open. When you die in your sin, the door is closed. When Christ comes and you are still living in sin, the door will be forever closed. When you stand before God on the day of judgement, and your name is not in the Book of Life, you will cry.
If you are willing to repent and surrender your life to Jesus Christ, then pray this prayer right now: LORD Jesus, I come to You right now. I know I am a sinner, please forgive me my sins. With my mouth, I declare that Jesus, from today, I accept You as the LORD of my life. Change my heart from a disobedient heart to a heart that will obey You. With my new heart, I believe that it is because of me that You came into this world; You died for my sins, take away my problems, fill me with Your Holy Spirit, write my name in the Book of Life, and make me brand new in Jesus name.
PRAYER POINTS:
1. I receive the power for a new beginning, in Jesus name.
2. I believe that I shall not die until I achieve what the Lord has destined for me, in Jesus name.
3. O Lord, let me harvest success, that will put an end to my sorrow, in Jesus name.
4. O Lord, help me to think straight in other to make the right decision, in Jesus name.
5. I cancel, every evil act that pushes me away from the Mercy of the Lord, in Jesus name.
6. Holy Spirit, uproot evil things that are against my advancement, in Jesus name.
7. My Father, let the choices I make be guided by Your Word, in Jesus name
8. Thank God for answering your prayers.
