No Regrets
Have you ever felt regret? Chances are you have and it’s not fun. It’s a helpless feeling of a missed moment or a messed up situation that echos within our hearts and minds. These memories are sprinkled through our lives and it forces us to navigate embarrassment and shame. Yes, the reality of regret is massive as it has the ability to rob the present and shrink the future. Far too many people live under this load.
I’ve seen families surround a dying loved one and have the room hollow from regret and unfulfilled time. I’ve also been in rooms where families surround a dying loved one and it was filled with love and celebration as they maximized their moments and left nothing unsaid. The stark differences are profound and as I’ve seen this firsthand I’ve realized how important it is to live with no regrets.
But this is easier said than done.
Our trepidation can scream louder than our courage and our fear can paralyze our forward movement. Big steps or small steps can be overwhelming as we think about the unknown and push forward to the hope of a brighter tomorrow. The struggle we feel on the inside is real, and for most the thoughts we tell ourselves are more true than the words we hear over ourselves. The battle in our mind is monumental and what we do with it determines everything.
So, how do we live with No Regrets?
I believe the answer is found in surrender. The more we are willing to let go of our lives, the more we are empowered to fully live it. We are naturally inclined to live with a clenched fist, protecting our turf and keeping what is ours. However, the opposite is true. The more we clinch our fist the more we lose, resulting in us withholding love, not taking steps of faith, and ultimately not trusting God’s plan for our lives. So we must live surrendered to Jesus leaving nothing on the table because we’ve given it all to Him.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:39 –
“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.”
Matthew 10:39
Notice Jesus’s words of cling and lose in this verse. Clinging causes us to miss moments and live in regret. To lose our lives is being surrendered, which causes us to seize the moment and live with no regrets. This is huge and it’s our choice.
We must realize that Jesus has fulfillment and purpose for us. He has a completed future leaving nothing unsaid or undone. The very nature of faith is love, and when we love we invariably will live with No Regrets.
So what will you do?
I encourage you to take small steps every day in your faith. Let Jesus have your heart one piece at a time. We can be overwhelmed with the idea of taking one massive step, when in reality no one does that. It’s always small steps that lead to a bigger moment. So start today and take your first step in being surrendered. Give Him one item on the table moving toward a moment when you give everything on the table to Him. Just take one step today!
Life is too short and it’s too precious to be wasted on trivial things. The gift He’s given us through salvation is magnificent and should not be squandered in the squabbling of strife and hard hearts.
My hope for you and for me is that when we’re old and ready to go see God, that our family surrounds our bed and the room is filled with love. That everything has been said and nothing has been undone. That our legacy of faith would speak louder than the inheritance of money. That our surrender would stir love and cause healing to flow. That our courage would give hope that God can do it again. This is what we’ll have when we live a life of No Regrets!
What can you let go of today?
Let Jesus have it. Leave nothing on the table and give it all to Him. Let God have a chance to do miracles through you and be determined to live with No Regrets!
Have a great day and the best is yet to come,
PD