We used to have a pastor whose message (at least once a month) was “keep on keepin’ on.” For us at our church, it’s always a good message.
Galatians 6:9 “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
Things happen and it’s easy to want to throw in the towel, but we can’t! And we need to let go of those things in our past that are hurting us, too. We need to give them to God and ask Him to heal us and quit pulling off the scab by dwelling on them over and over. Look ahead, not back. If we are new creatures in Christ, then the old things are gone and we don’t need them anymore.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
We can’t do anything about mistakes we’ve made, and regrets only make us sick or lose our hair. We should look forward to our new life in Christ Jesus and ask God to make something good out of the mistakes we’ve made, trusting Him to work things out the way only He can do. Then run this race with patience, waiting on God, and never, ever giving up!
Jesus said “13But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matthew 24:13-14
We get offended and we offend. In the Amplified Version of Matthew 6:14-16 Jesus said “14For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.”
You see where it says “leaving them” and “letting them go” and “giving up resentment?” We need to let go and don’t look back. Give up resentment! Let it go!
In Luke 9:62 “62 Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.”
I might be talking to the wrong crowd, but then again, maybe not. It seems to me that everyone on earth has made a mistake or two, and some people make the same mistake more than once. So you may be like me and have things from the past come up in your memory sometimes, causing you to wish you hadn’t said or done something that you can’t take back.
I can only say two things. If you feel like you’ve never done anything wrong, then you are deceived. And if you feel remorseful and regret your mistakes, then be glad, because God is working on you.
Hebrews 12:5 “And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you.” New Living Translation
If you feel better than others, you are deceived. But if the Lord is showing you the errors of your ways, a little bit at a time, He is washing you white as snow, and we can rejoice in that. Just don’t let the devil get you down with guilt & condemnation. Tell him to get behind you, in Jesus’ name, and go boldly to the throne of God with a heart full of remorse, asking Him to forgive you in the name of Jesus, letting Him take over your life, and begin reading as much of His Word as you can each day. Begin talking to Him and walking with Him every day, with a new heart full of His joy.
God is full of mercy. Exodus 20:6 “And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
2 Chronicles 30:9 “For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.”
His grace is new every day. Psalm 84:11 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
Paul struggled with mistakes and regrets. Hmmph, you say! Paul? Yes, Paul. Where? Read Romans, chapter 7, ALL of it. And then you might as well read chapter 8! The answer is in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
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