"Regret"

By the time I will admit it,

It almost lays me low,

It’s the burden that I carry,

That makes the race get slow.

And what is that you carry,

That’s heavy, causes pain,

Drives away the sunshine,

And makes your soul feel rain.

It’s that old regretful feelin’,

When you look back on your life,

Think of all the things you’ve done,

And wish you’d gotten right.

And you know God did forgive you,

And you’ve tried to make things work,

Don’t want to be a slacker,

You damn sure wouldn’t shirk.

The narrow way to follow,

The sacrifice to make,

You want a real good harvest,

To leave back in your wake.

But that old nagging feelin’,

That you just can’t do enough,

Make up for all the wasted time,

Back when you lived life rough.

They sing about the outlaws,

And what’s there not to like,

The good old boys a- runnin’,

And at it day and night.

And I was out there with ‘em,

I guess there is mystique,

Flyin’ high rebellious,

And anything but meek.

But those times nearly killed me,

I almost lost my soul,

And though the years give distance,

Regret can be stone cold.

So my only answer,

Is get down lean and low,

Surrender all I’m feeling,

And let that burden go.

Accept that I’m accepted,

Forgiveness full and free,

Not just toward other people,

But grace the same for me.

Regret is just the devil,

Trying to condemn,

Make you relive your failures,

So give the boot to him.

And when he reminds you,

Of who you used to be,

Remind him who is coming,

To set the whole world free.

“Come to Me, all of you who carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest…” (Mt. 11:28, NLT)

One of the heaviest burdens any of us ever carry is regret. Regret is not the same things as “godly sorrow.” When the Bible talks about repentance godly sorrow is part of it. Having remorse about our sins is appropriate and brought on by the work of the Holy Spirit. He convinces and convicts of us of our sins, but with only one goal in mind. And that is to bring us to a place of confession, cleansing, and healing. If we are in denial we can never get free. On the other hand, many Christians who know they have been forgiven of their sins still struggle with feeling condemned or unworthy. Regret becomes the burden we never quite shake, and steals the joy God wants us to experience. The Bible never comes right out and says we need to forgive ourselves, but that’s what it amounts to. Jesus really does want to relieve the burden of regret, along with anything that weighs us down. He invites us. We ought to come.

Lord, help us to give You the burden of our regrets. Help us to forgive ourselves, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Cody Witham, codywitham, com. Used by permission. Thanks, Cody, and God bless you.