How to Deal with Regret

New Year. Fresh Start.
How to Deal with Regret

I. Introduction

A. So many of our wounds in life are –!

B. Luke 15:13 (NAS) “And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.”

II. How to Deal with Regret

A. Assess your situation to gain the .

1. -or- thinking

2.

3. Fall victim to his

4. Fall victim to

5. Two steps to take:

a. exactly what it is you regret.

b. Talk this over with a person.

6. “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. And the second-best time to plant a tree is today.”

B. Don’t with other people.

1. Comparisons your regret.

2. Two facts to remember:

a. You don’t have to “compete” for !

i. Psalm 86:5 (NAS) For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.

b. God celebrates your !

i. Psalm 139:13-14 (NAS) ¹³For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.

C. Confess your regrets to and those you’ve .

1. Luke 15:18 (NAS) “‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight.”’”

2. Two facts to remember:

a. God’s forgiveness is not like forgiveness!

i. Proverbs 28:13 (NAS) He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

ii. Isaiah 43:25 (NAS) “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”

b. Being forgiven does not depend on !

i. Romans 12:18 (NAS) If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

D. Develop a plan for the future—and build it around .

1. Luke 15:20 (NAS) “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

2. God will show you, “I can take your life—regardless of where you are—and I can do things in and through your life that you can’t even !”

III. Conclusion