Regret

Life is full of regrets…for all types of reasons. Some good; some bad. Some important; some not-so-important. For instance, I regret not buying the shirt I wanted when it was on sale last week. But, I also regret not being a friend to someone that needed me during a rough time. I regret having made some bad choices. But, I also regret having made some good choices that turned out to not be so good. Regrets are burdensome. They sometimes make me hurt. They sometimes make me grieve.

But, if life wasn’t full of regrets, we wouldn’t learn anything, would we? There would be no test of our conscience...no test of our faith. There would be no questions asked. Personally, I know that I’ve learned from my regrets. Sure, I regret not being a friend to someone that needed me, but don’t you think I learned something from it? Same with making bad choices. If I had made good choices all the time, do you think I would have learned anything? No.

2 Corinthians 7:9-11 (HCSB) - Now I am rejoicing, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved as God willed, so that you didn’t experience any loss from us. For godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation, but worldly grief produces death. For consider how much diligence this very thing – this grieving as God wills – has produced in you: what a desire to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what deep longing, what zeal, what justice! In every way you have commended yourselves to be pure in this matter.

We all have regrets. But, we must rejoice in those regrets, knowing that we learned something from them and we are a better person because of it. We must walk by faith and not by sight, and maybe those regrets won’t be so burdensome.