Letting Go of Regret
Have you ever tried riding a Grab or an Uber car? I sometimes do, and get to meet interesting people. One driver shared to me about his French great grandfather.
“Do you know that my ancestor was one of those that killed Andres Bonifacio, the hero?” he said.——Whaaaat?? And here I am, a Bonifacio, riding his car!
His ancestor was one of the soldiers under Emilio Aguinaldo’s government who carried out the orders to execute Andres Bonifacio and his men. The interesting part of his story was this:
“After the war, he retired, and became a teacher. He also kept a painting in his living room, of Andres Bonifacio.”
“But why would your great-grandfather, keep a painting of a person he helped execute?” I asked.
He answered,“I think . . . regret.”
Regret (n): A feeling of sadness, repentance, or disappointment over something that has happened.
Regret is a strange emotion. It can hang over you indefinitely, like that painting in his ancestor’s house. Can you imagine waking up everyday, going out of your room to eat breakfast, and there, staring at you, is that painting reminding you of your greatest regret?
The devil is an expert at that. His favorite pastime is a Memory Game that always reminds us of past blunders, sins, and failures.
Regret. Guilt. Condemnation. These are often the darts he hurls at us. He knows the longer we linger, the weaker we get.
King David knew firsthand the pain of sin and condemnation.
Because of King David’s lust, he became a home wrecker. He destroyed a happy marriage. He became an adulterer, seducing someone else’s wife. He orchestrated the murder of her husband. He caused the death of his own newborn son. He became a stumbling block to his own countrymen.
How does a person rise up from such a catastrophe?
1. Regret wants to keep you hiding in the shadows. Freedom is facing the truth in the light of God’s Word.
Whatever it is that weighs you down or haunts your thoughts, don’t go down the rabbit hole of excuses or emotions. Face the painful truth. Lay your guilt on the table, and see what God’s Word has to say about it. If there was sin involved, call it what it is.
After David’s sin, the prophet Nathan was ruthless in confronting David with his sin:
Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. . . Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 2Samuel 12:7-10
2. Regret chains you up. Repentance brings liberty.
Despite the shame of his sin, David had the humility to admit it. He could’ve pulled out his rank and said, “Hey! I’m King!” He could’ve put the blame on someone else. But instead he simply replies, “I have sinned against the Lord.” 2 Samuel 12:11
3. There is freedom in receiving God’s forgiveness.
King David describes his experience in this way:
When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Psalm 32:3-5
On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul. Psalm 138:3 NASB
Guilt eats us up on the inside, but God’s unfathomable mercy brings strength to our souls!
He cleanses our emotions of the stain of sin (be it ours or that of another), and gives us the grace and wisdom to face the future.
Does your soul need strengthening today? Do you know of someone who does?
Listen to the advice of Isaiah, the prophet:
Seek the Lord while He may be found;call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55: 6-7
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