Living With No RegretsSample

“What was I thinking?" …”Why did I do that?” …”I can't believe I said that!” …”Why didn't I stand up and say something?”

We all say and deal with these common expressions of regret at some point in our lives. Peter denied Jesus three times while warming himself by the courtyard fire out of fear of retaliation and retribution. In the same manner, some of us, out of anger and the heat of the moment, say or do something we later regret. These nagging voices of regret and condemnation can haunt us for years. They beat like drums in our minds and grow louder and stronger the longer left unresolved.

Although Peter was no stranger to mistakes, regrets, and regular personal rebukes from Jesus, his life proves a powerful picture of someone God uses in spite of themselves. Peter took his eyes off Jesus and sank into the sea. He tried to talk Jesus out of going to the cross to pay for our sins—but denying the Lord publicly to His face? No one ever imagined Peter blowing it at that level! He was in Jesus' inner circle, one of the “top three,” but when the pressures of life came, Peter failed BIG TIME!

Maybe, like Peter, you are ashamed of something you've done. You crumbled under pressure and made a poor choice. You let your family down. Maybe, you're currently caught in a web of sin. No matter which voice of regret yells in your ear threatening your demise, it is a lie! Even after your biggest failures, Jesus still calls you to Himself. He calls you “to come… and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Jesus invites you today to receive His never-ending love and forgiveness to drown out the voices of regret.

As you engage with God’s Word:

● What is God saying to me?

● What does it mean to me?

● How can I apply what God is teaching me?

● How can I be specific in prayer today?

After you reflect on these questions, bring everything to God in prayer.