Would You Have Any Regrets? Part 2 — Morning Devotions

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Transcript

I’m talking again today about regrets and there’s a great verse from Psalm 90:12. Moses prayed this prayer. Teach us to use wisely all the time we have. I think that’s a great prayer when we’re thinking about regrets. So what are some of the issues and lessons in life that people have learned about regrets? Well, here are just a few.

Would You Have Any Regrets? Part 1 — Morning Devotions

Saying hurtful things during a heated argument. Now, does that happen? Yes, it does.

You know, two people arguing and they say something that really is going to be like an outburst and does more damage.

Placing too much value on things or even being too committed to a job, and I think there are lots of people look back at the end of their life or their career, and they realise they missed out on what was really important and it wasn’t work. Focusing so much on the future that you forget to live today, and many people have this regret that they didn’t make the best use of life years ago.

Or holding a grudge, no matter what the circumstance, you know, it’s never worth it to hold a grudge. People sometimes have too much pride, and they’re not prepared to say, I’m sorry. It’s hard to forgive yourself when you deprive another person of their right to an apology. But these simple words, the two words I’m sorry, can do so much. What about being too afraid to take a chance in life, or, as we say, crying over spilt milk? The past has passed.

Why do we focus on things that we can do nothing about, gossip or telling lies, these are things that people regret having done, choosing a job or a career for the wrong reason. Neglecting your body, you know by not looking after yourself, eating right, exercising, even going to the dentist at the right time. Or not speaking up. Sometimes in life you do need to speak up and say something, not expressing your love for your family.

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What about holding back the tears, some people are so opposed to crying that they will hold back the tears and, and never show any emotions, not saying thank you to people, worrying too much, yes, that’s a good one, isn’t it, where we just spend time worrying about all sorts of things. And what about betrayal, have you ever betrayed a friend? True friendship is one of the most valuable gifts that we can ever receive. So if we make a decision to actually betray our friend, I think that’s a deep regret.

What about making promises that you cannot keep or that you won’t keep, of course those are things that are big regrets. So I think in order to live a life without regret, we need to know what to live for. What is the philosophy in life? What’s your philosophy? What is it that really makes you want to get moving in the morning and to understand what life’s about? Well, the Bible, of course, the Bible is the best way to understand this. It paints a picture of life, it paints a picture that God has made us.

We need to learn what is important if we don’t want to have regrets in our life, and I think the apostle Paul from the New Testament, he lived with no regrets. He was a great man because he had eternity in view. He wasn’t preoccupied with this life. There were some things in life that just didn’t matter, but his relationship with God through Jesus Christ, that was the most important thing. And so I think we need to understand that to live without regrets, God has to be number one in our lives.

It’s so easy to get caught up with everyday life, isn’t it? And Jesus, I think, who just explained things so well and eloquently in Matthew 6, said, Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

So I think I’d like to ask you, what are you living for? What’s the priority in your life? Is God in the rightful place?

In the Old Testament, whenever the children of Israel would set up camp, they would set up the tabernacle, and then they’d set up their tents around the tabernacle because the tabernacle to them was the centre of their life and the centre of their community. So is God the centre of your life? Let’s try and know what is really important, and there are lots of stories about how Jesus spoke to people about the important things of life.

I think it’s important also to know that we can pray and I want to just ask God in this prayer to bless you.

Prayer

Lord bless every person so that we don’t have this around our neck of worrying about regrets. Saying, what if, but we thank you through Jesus we can have His peace. Amen.

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