Regrets…and Hope

Regrets

I think we all have them. I certainly have my share –

 

Things I wish I’d said and done….

 

Things I wish I hadn’t.

 

I want to gift you with a comment a writer friend gave me through one of her characters.

 

In the story, the character’s wife had been unfaithful and unrepentant about it. He was so hurt and angry he stepped away and did not offer her redemption. She was killed in an auto accident shortly after and he regretted what to him felt like a vital missed opportunity.

 

After years of agonizing about his self-identified “un-Christian” attitude and lack of action, he finally confessed it to a friend.

 

The friend’s response:

 

And do you think God was limited by that?

Was God limited in fulfilling that person’s need by the character’s action…by my action…or lack of it?

Whoa. I’d forgotten, just as the character had, that my story was not just my story – it was God’s story. God knows my weaknesses and appreciates my confession and repentance, and then He

forgets my wimping out of opportunities that were given to be a bigger part of a number of stories.

 

Because I failed in the ultimate goal of that moment (to give someone comfort, help, advice, silence, or whatever God led) does not mean that God failed – that the need was not addressed or provided.

 

God promised He would never leave us or forsake us. He did not promise those I love that He would do that only through me or only through me and…but exactly what His Word says – God/Jesus said “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

 

One resource says there are 5467 promises, divine, in the Bible. Another resource says there are 3000 promises to which God answers yes. However many there are, none…

 

None

 

Depend on me.

 

That is not to say God will not use me (or you) in others lives, he will, and I am grateful to get confirmation from time to time that He has given me that privilege.

 

But it is such a comfort to be reminded that where I have failed, God has prevailed.

 

He does not need to use people, but He often does. And though I may experience loss for those poor choices, procrastination, fear, or lack of follow through and so on, I can be confident that God’s promises have been, are being, and will be completely fulfilled.

 

I look forward to the day when I see and hear the rest of many stories, and to thank whomever God used in my place to correct and fulfill what I should have done (or not done).

 

 

Regret: Dictionary: To feel sad, repentant, or disappointed over (something that has happened or been done, especially a loss or missed opportunity

 

 

 

 

 

2Cor. 1:20 Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident.

 

2Cor. 7:1 With promises like this to pull us on, dear friends, let’s make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let’s make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God.

 

Heb. 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful

How has God been faithful to you?