Do you ever have regrets? Sure you do. We all do. We all have regrets. We all have things that we have done that we wish we hadn’t done, or things we wish we had done differently. Maybe in a word that we said to someone or the way we acted in a certain situation we wish we could change but we cannot go back. we cannot go back in time. Here’s one that really gets me too. Not listening to God. Regretting not accepting God early in our life. It seems like its so easy to regret rejecting God in our life when I so needed Him to guide me in important decisions or find strength in Him when I was suffering loss and sadness. But I didn’t Know God then. Or what’s even worse, when you look back at the times in your life when you already were a Christian. Because once you were saved you were born again, a new creation. So those times when you were a child of God and didn’t walk daily with Him. Think about those times in your life, if you have a relationship with Jesus, when you wasn’t seeking God’s will in your life. You were saved but, you were kinda doing your own thing. You might have sometimes questioned God’s will for your life but you didn’t take the time and the steps to put God first in your life and read His word and pray daily. You didn’t walk with God. You know where I’m coming from, I’ve been there. You’ve been there. We have all been like a child running from his parent. And it’s at these times in our life we those big life decisions come along and we make our choices on our own desires, feelings and what seems right at the time. We make our choices in life based on the “world view”. We don’t seek God’s will. Oh we say we do. We pray but we ask “sometimes”, and I do mean sometimes for His guidance. But we are not in step with Him, in “His Step”. So then our choices in life are messed up. Jobs, marriage and financial choices are made without His guidance. Then the regrets come when we finally put God in His rightful place in our lives. Hopefully we do at sometime in our lives put God on our throne. But there are always consequences to our choices. We can’t go back in time and do it God’s way. We have to live the choices we’ve made. There is no magical time machine. God is not gonna give you one even if you ask Him. I know because I’ve tried. But He will forgive you for your disobedience. Amen, praise the Lord. And here is the cool part. He loves us. Simple. He loves you and me. So, to get to the point. How do we not regret? How do we not become discouraged when Satan tells us God cannot use us and that we have blown our chance at true happiness in serving the Lord because our life has not been lived in His total complete will? Well you’ve heard there are four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Actually there are sixty-six Gospels. The whole Bible tells of Jesus. The Old Testament is a picture of Jesus and His coming. In Genesis there are many parallels between Joseph and Jesus. In Genesis 50:15-21 after the death of Jacob the Bible tells of the forgiveness that Joesph had for his brothers and is so much like the forgiveness that God has for you and me. Joesph’s brothers wanted to kill him, they hated him. Wasn’t that our attitude toward Jesus before we were saved? But check this out. They repented because Joesph loved them first. Now look at what happens. 15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him! Don’t we do the same thing? Don’t we sometimes wonder if God is holding out on us because of this? “Hey, it was our choice not to seek and do His will for our lives”. But look at what Joesph says in verse 19. 19But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. 21 So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Lets face it. Our disobedience to God is really against God. It is direct defiance against our Creator, the One who sent His Son to die for our sins. When we don’t seek His will and when we don’t do His will we are really saying, “I don’t need You. You are not important to me.” It is a slap in His face. So our disobedience is evil to God. It brings joy to Satan. But God can use it for good if we walk in His ways and seek His will. When we repent and turn from our wicked ways and follow the Most Holy of Holy He will use it for good. We must do what Joseph’s brothers did, So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father charged before he died, saying, 17‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, “Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” And they said, 18 Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” God will use your life for Him for the good, to bring glory to Him, to bring people to know Jesus as their Savior if we put Him first in all things. Then again in verse 21. This is the kicker. Rest in this verse ans don’t be discouraged and suffer from those regrets any more. 21 So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Isn’t that awesome? Jesus doesn’t want us to live discouraged lives full of regret. The last part of verse 17 said, And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Jesus gave His life “so that we may life.” Life of joy in Him and service through Him. How wonderful it is to be a child of God. In closing check this verse out. Isaiah 1:18-19: 18 “Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.
19 “If you consent and obey,
You will eat the best of the land.”people That’s what God has in store for me and you. The best of the Land. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat from the best of the land. Thank You father that you are a loving and forgiveing God. Thank You God that you will use us to glorify You and bring others into your kingdom even though we have fallen short You have made us whole. Amen
