"Re-Do"

I wonder if I really tried,

Could I go back to then,

Rehearse all of my life’s mistakes,

Before I did them when.

Wouldn’t that be something,

Go back and all re-do,

Anticipate bad harvests,

Before the seed I threw.

I’d take back all the heart-break,

That I caused along the way,

And every single hurtful word,

I would never say.

At every intersection,

I’d choose God’s perfect will,

And all the wasted time and coin,

I’d keep with me until,

God said go invest it,

Or just give it away,

I’d have a life of wisdom,

And never go astray.

Be able to rest well at night,

No sadness or regret,

Enjoy all of the peace God gave,

And you would, too, I bet.

So what to do about it,

I cannot get it back,

Once a life is spent and done,

There’s no way to re-tack.

They say He’ll give forgiveness,

I believe it’s true,

And if you’ve been forgiven,

Your life gets better, too.

 So here I go to Jesus,

With all of this regret,

And all my mixed-bag history,

Hoping just to get,

The help He says He offers,

Some way to make things right,

Just lay it on His altar,

And out into the light.

But, wait, what’s that I’m hearing,

He says that He forgets,

All the sin that I have done,

And it gets better yet,

Though He has forgotten,

He works in circumstance,

To somehow make it into good,

And gives a brand-new chance,

To make a new tomorrow,

And not what I have been,

Throw off condemnation,

And guilt for all my sin.

And then a testimony,

From one who failed before,

Connecting to the hopeless,

And give an open door.

So someone comes to Jesus,

Because they heard from me,

He takes the walking wounded,

And heals them all to be,

Someone who advertises,

The wonders of His grace,

With all the broken pieces,

That He puts back in place.

“…but I focus on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on…” (Phil. 3:13-14, NLT)

The Bible tells us God forgets what He has forgiven, which is one of the best promises of all. This means that He cancels our sin-debt, pardons us, and doesn’t hold anything against us. All good, right? But I can still remember them, and that can be a major problem. So, Paul says he forgets the past and presses on to finish the race God has laid out for him. But how is “forgetting” even possible? Truth is, it’s not. Not literally. What Paul is saying is that God has applied grace to his memory, so that when he remembers the past it has no detrimental effect on him. It doesn’t slow him down or impede his progress because he has placed it entirely in God’s hands. There is no condemnation. There is nothing to fear. There is no need for regret. There is only the gift of today and the promise that when tomorrow becomes today it will be filled with new grace. There is also great joy in knowing that God uses everything, and the demonic assignment designed to kill me has become the testimony that heals others. No way we can re-do life. But we can live a new life starting now.

Lord, help us make peace with the past so that we can live now for You, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Jeff Gant, used by permissioin. Thanks, Jeff, and God bless you.