Help Me to Reflect, Not Regret - Your Nightly Prayer - October 2nd
Help Me Reflect, Not Regret
Your Nightly Prayer
by Britt Mooney
TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1
SOMETHING TO PONDER
Life in this world is a series of seasons. From different schools, jobs, careers, and personal situations, things constantly change.
Coming to the end of a season, we easily look back and find regrets. As humans, we absolutely make mistakes, at least a few. We didn’t handle everything perfectly. Looking at these faults, regret becomes self-destructive.
To begin with, we can’t change the past. To torture ourselves about it has no value. Further, with regret, shame soon follows. Shame is a deep sense of personal failure, feeling unworthy and exposed. Shame goes beyond guilt. Guilt says, “I did a wrong thing.” Shame says, “There’s something unworthy about me.”
Jesus didn’t die on the cross for us to live in shame. His blood cleansed us of all sin, any actions apart from God’s love we may have done. God removed those sins further than we can imagine. He took care of the guilt, also negating any condemnation. Shame, like condemnation, is a hopeless state. The Father convicts, challenging us to change and improve for the better. In Christ, he doesn’t condemn or bring shame.
With Jesus’ resurrection, he can bring dead things to life, bring restoration even greater than anything we have lost.
Therefore, at the end of a season, God gives us the opportunity to reject regret and enter reflection, exploring our actions with the Spirit and biblical truth to see where we went wrong and need to change for the future. We might apologize and work toward reconciliation as the Spirit leads. Regret and shame enslave us to the past. Reflection thinks forward with hope, knowing it can and will get better with Jesus.
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Heavenly Father,
We thank you for walking with us through every season of life. We choose to reject regret and shame at the cross, where Jesus paid for all our sin and failure. You have removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. We receive your grace, not condemnation, and choose reflection and restoration. Teach us through the Spirit to change and walk in hope. Restore what was lost and bring new life.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
1. What is a time your life moved on, but you carried deep regret over the situation?
2. How does God’s love, forgiveness, and hope address the regret and shame you feel with truth?
3. How have you reflected over a past wrong to learn and grow to be more like Christ in your life?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/fizkes
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