I wonder. Did Abraham ever look back and regret asking Sarah to tell others she was his sister? Did he ever regret having a son with his wife’s servant? Did Lot ever regret choosing the land near Sodom and Gomorrah? Did he regret not asking Abraham for recommendations for future husbands for his daughters instead of choosing men who scoffed at God’s commands? Did Lot’s daughters ever regret having children with their drunken father? Would Abraham roll over in his grave today if he knew all the trouble his descendants from Ishmael caused throughout history?
Did Jacob ever regret tricking his brother not once, but twice? Did he finally understand how awful it felt to be deceived after his father-in-law turned the tables on him? Did Esau ever regret hating his brother? Did Rebekah ever regret advising Jacob to deceive his father? Did David regret seducing Bathsheeba and having her husband killed in battle? Did Adam and Eve ever regret taking a bite of the forbidden fruit? Did Cain regret killing his brother, Abel? Did Jonah regret running from God?
We could got through the entire Bible and read about the incidents that could cause one to face regrets at a later date. Our Bible heroes weren’t perfect people. They too had moments of failure and messed up their lives. And sometimes it was in big, unrepairable ways. Some of them caused problems for future generations of their family. And they never saw or felt the full impact of their sins because they died beforehand.
We may never know the true impact our sinful actions may cause others. We may never see the final result of our sins. Our families may be the ones who are faced with life-altering circumstances because of our failures. Tragedies may fall on our loved ones because of our decisions. Do we take future consequences into consideration when we act without thinking?
Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Acts 3:19
The regret of “if only” is real. If only I hadn’t said those words. If only I would have said it differently. If only I hadn’t gone there with her. If only I had driven myself. If only I had said “no.” If only I had said “yes.” If only I hadn’t spent so much money. If only I hadn’t accepted that awful job. If only I hadn’t eaten all that food. If only I hadn’t looked at that website. And the list could go on and never end.
I recently read an article about the apostle Paul’s prayers. It was mentioned that rarely did he pray for his wants and needs. Sure. We know the story of his prayers for God to remove the thorn in his flesh. And he also asked his fellow believers to pray for his safety while traveling and preaching the gospel. But he never prays for his belly to be full. Or for a closet full of clothes. He doesn’t ask God to help him get approved for the mortgage he can’t afford. He doesn’t pray to find a godly wife or to have children. In fact, he doesn’t even pray for his situation to change. Not even while he sits in prison. Instead. He prays for his spiritual needs. And perhaps it’s time for us to pray more for our own spiritual needs instead of our physical needs and wants. I wonder, if we did that, how many fewer “if only” moments would we experience in life.
Regrets and “if onlys” don’t have to break us. We can use our past struggles to help mentor other struggling believers who are seeking guidance We can learn from our sins to help guide others who are struggling with sin. We can become disciplers of new believers and teach them to live a godly life and become strong followers of Christ. We can use what we’ve learned from our mistakes to help others not make the same poor decisions.
The thing is. We can’t go back. We can’t undo what we’ve done. We can only go forward, while we look back with regret. We can’t change the past, but we can be forgiven for our past sins. We won’t forget the wrongs we have committed against God and others, but we can have our slate wiped clean from sin. We can’t turn back time, but God can turn our hearts around to following him. We can live redeemed only when we repent and stop sinning. Forgiveness may not change the consequences of our sins, but it will change our eternity.
Mercy for the Day 