Moving Beyond Regrets
Download MP3Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine encouragement. This is Joy in Every Step with your host, beloved preacher, retired teacher, and faithful through the valleys or dancing on the mountaintops, Sarita's voice will guide you back to his promises step by step. So open your heart, settle your spirit, and take the next step in faith with joy in every step.
Sarita Bernadette:Hi. I'm Sarita Bernadette, and welcome back to Joy in Every Step. I'm glad you're here. I'm so glad that you've taken a little bit of time out of your day to take a listen wherever you're joining us from welcome, welcome. In the last episode, we talked about quieting the noise of regrets and we shared a couple of points.
Sarita Bernadette:Those points included the conclusion many of us have come to and that is if we had it to do all over again, we would make different decisions. We would make different choices, right? Along with that we shared a couple of stories from the Word of God that reminded us about an important piece of dealing with regrets and that is repentance. We also stress the importance of allowing the lessons from said regrets to teach us something. The lessons we learned can inform future decisions.
Sarita Bernadette:We closed with this scripture in that episode. It's a scripture from Philippians four and eight. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. The Apostle Paul admonished us to turn our thoughts away from the things that cause us to be anxious and instead think on the things that are worthy of our time. So let's talk more about regrets today.
Sarita Bernadette:I did get some feedback from that last episode so I want to continue with that and just dig in a little bit more today specifically moving beyond regrets, getting over it if you will. Peter showed up in the last episode as an example of someone from the Word of God who had to quiet the noise of his regrets and then move beyond them. Peter had a huge assignment. Peter was forgiven by Jesus, and when you read the story, you see that Jesus knew what was coming. He told Peter about it and Peter had to forgive himself so he could move into the next chapter of his assignment and find joy and fulfillment there as he walked it out.
Sarita Bernadette:He had to let go of the guilt, he had to let go of the shame that he felt, and you know he felt it. Peter took his role as a disciple seriously. He was passionate about it. When Jesus told Peter that he knew he would be the one to betray him, Peter declared, Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you. Yes, that's what he said.
Sarita Bernadette:That's a pretty passionate statement, wouldn't you think? His love for Jesus was evident when the soldiers came to arrest him, when they came to arrest Jesus, Peter was the one who was so determined to defend Jesus that he drew his sword and he cut off the ear of the high priest's servant. Cut off his ear. That's some passion. Can you imagine the remorse and the regret that Peter must have felt after displaying that kind of passion and still succumbing to fear and denying that he ever knew Jesus?
Sarita Bernadette:That was quite a burden to carry. God knows how heavy our burdens can get. But the truth is, we are not meant to carry them alone. We are not meant to carry them for long either. Once you have asked forgiveness from God, once you have asked forgiveness, you have to accept and embrace that forgiveness and you have to shift your focus away from what went wrong.
Sarita Bernadette:Your thinking has to shift to what's going well and how you might keep and gain momentum as you move forward. That's where faith comes in. It takes faith to move beyond regrets. It takes faith to believe you've been forgiven. It takes faith to believe what the Lord says about you when you're when what you're seeing contradicts that.
Sarita Bernadette:Sometimes it does. Faith is what you need to change your mind. You have to stop wallowing in regrets and start walking in the joy of the Lord and that takes faith. You're going to need to activate your faith in order to do that. I remembered something in a story found in the first chapter of John and it involves Peter and the disciples.
Sarita Bernadette:In this particular story, Peter and the disciples go fishing in the sea at Galilee and they labor all night long. You might have heard this story. They labor all night long to no avail. They caught nothing, not one fish. In the morning, Jesus calls out to them from the shore and he tells them to move their nets to the other side of the boat.
Sarita Bernadette:The disciples don't even realize that it's Jesus even when he calls out. He says, friends, did you catch anything? In another translation he calls to them children but they don't know it's him. They don't even know it's him even after he calls them friends and after he calls them his children. They don't figure it out until after they follow his instructions and this net is so full that they can't haul it into the boat.
Sarita Bernadette:Then John says to Peter, that's the Lord. And verse seven says, when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment for he had taken it off and he jumped into the sea. Note a couple of things here. John, as the Bible calls him, the disciple whom Jesus loved, recognized Jesus. I believe John recognized that love that he had known when he had walked with the Lord.
Sarita Bernadette:And then look at Peter's response. He jumps at the chance to get to Jesus, literally jumps at the chance. He's the one who he had betrayed. And instead of running away or cowering, he leaps into the water and makes his way toward Jesus. I believe Peter saw an opportunity there, an opportunity to move on.
Sarita Bernadette:We have to be on the lookout for our chance to get over that thing that's holding us back. A sincere desire for it is going to the Lord and asking for forgiveness and believing that the Lord is going to set something in motion for you. Know that it may not look just like what you expect and just because you don't see it doesn't mean it isn't being worked out. You have to have faith. You may not receive an apology from that person.
Sarita Bernadette:Listen, if it's something that you did, if it's a mistake that you made, you know, you may want to apologize, but the opportunity may not come like you want it to come. If somebody did something to you, you may want an apology, but you may not get it from that person. But know that God can send comfort and reassurance from someone or somewhere else. He can send comfort and reassurance from someone or something that you never expected. You may not get a chance to apologize again in the way that you had envisioned, but God may create something totally unexpected out of the situation.
Sarita Bernadette:Just be on the lookout, Be in faith. Know that God will surely, surely make a way for you to move on. The story in John 21 tells us the disciples were all in a boat. Remember that part? That part's significant.
Sarita Bernadette:They were in a boat. Many of us are in the same boat. Listen, listen, in the New Testament boats are symbolic of our faith journey. As we move through this sea of life, I'll call it, we do all that we can to fortify our boats right. We work on building our faith throughout our lives.
Sarita Bernadette:It's our faith that pleases God. It's interesting that the Bible records Peter as the one who abandons the boat and gets out into the water. That took some faith. He had some faith already and they were navigating the sea. Are you hearing me with your spirit?
Sarita Bernadette:They were already doing some navigating, but Peter had to stretch his faith just a little further. Peter stretched his faith. He had to be confident that the Lord would receive him when he reached the shore. We have to activate our faith as we move beyond regrets. And again, I'm talking about the mistakes we make and the things that happen to us that are not our fault.
Sarita Bernadette:Both can cause us distress. I believe God called Peter to come out of his regrets at that moment. And he, Peter, answered the call. His faith was rewarded by the Lord. When God calls us out, we have to come out.
Sarita Bernadette:The other disciples I noted chose to remain in the boat but they still made their way to the shore with that huge haul of fish dragging behind them. They too recognized that it was the Lord who called out to them and led them to that great fishing spot on the sea. Then Jesus prepared a great fish fry on the beach I like to call it. Please you have to read the story for yourselves and see what you get from it. It has blessed me so many times over.
Sarita Bernadette:Each time I read it I get something new and fresh. Let's visit some additional scriptures that will inform our journey as we do what Peter did and that is move beyond the regrets and embrace what God has planned. In Philippians three thirteen-fourteen Paul writes, No, brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing, forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strained to reach the end of the race and received the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us. Paul says, he's not where he wants to be, but he's not where he was either.
Sarita Bernadette:Anybody relate? He says he has to forget all the things that took place in his life prior to this current assignment, this current moment, this current season. He declares he is so committed to the mission that he is straining. One translation says he's pressing, pressing into the race with his eye on the finish line. He's leaning in and he's got his eye on the prize.
Sarita Bernadette:So we too need to be determined to look forward and to move only in that direction. Romans eight:one is so direct as it states simply, therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I shared that in the last episode. This scripture is so phenomenal. It reminds us that feelings of condemnation do not come from God.
Sarita Bernadette:Nothing you have done can erase the love God has for you. You will always, always be a part of his plan. That eighth chapter of Romans is chock full of wonderful reminders about who we are in Christ. It talks about the fact that because we belong to God, we have access to the power of a life giving spirit that frees us from the power of sin that leads to death. It no longer has the power that it did before Jesus Christ came and gave his life for us.
Sarita Bernadette:Paul goes on to say that those led by the spirit of God are the children of God. He reminds us about Holy Spirit. He says Holy Spirit is with us to help us in our weaknesses. He reiterates there that we have been chosen by God. Friends, we are the chosen ones.
Sarita Bernadette:It's as simple as that. I shared verse one a moment ago and if we drop all the way down to verses 35 through 37 in that same eighth chapter of Romans, we read, Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity or are persecuted or hungry or destitute or in danger or threatened with death? Verse 36, As the scriptures say, for your sake we are killed every day, we are being slaughtered like sheep. No, despite all these things overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us.
Sarita Bernadette:There is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ. There is no mistake big enough or bad enough to separate us from the love of God. Hang on to that as you move on friends, keep that top of mind. And it may take some work. So let's go back to Philippians four and eight and this time, I'm gonna share it in the passion translation.
Sarita Bernadette:It says, keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind, and fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God praising him always. Fasten your thoughts. One has to work on one's thinking. Think about what you're thinking about. Is the stuff in your head worth spending time on?
Sarita Bernadette:That's a good question to ask yourself from time to time friends. Is the stuff in my head right now worth spending my time on? Think on the good things knowing that you have weapons for fighting those thoughts that try to creep in that don't serve your greater good. Those thoughts that don't honor God. Second Corinthians chapter 10 verses four through five reads, we use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.
Sarita Bernadette:We find our weapons in meditating on scripture and turning those scriptures into prayers. Yes. Try that if you haven't already. Great weapon to use. Use scripture to pray.
Sarita Bernadette:Pray the scriptures. Verse five reads, we destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. We capture the thoughts that try to creep in and make themselves dominant. Capture them and knock them down.
Sarita Bernadette:Yep. We choose violence. When we come, when it comes to the thoughts that don't obey Christ, when it comes to the thoughts that choose to that that come and make us anxious, yep, we capture them, we snatch them down, and we knock them down. Yes, moving beyond regrets requires that we do some serious work, my friends. And sometimes, sometimes, all you have as you're going through this process is your faith.
Sarita Bernadette:John twenty and twenty nine says, Jesus said to him, have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. We don't always see the work going on. We have to just simply believe the Lord. We believe him and we trust him wholeheartedly.
Sarita Bernadette:Even when we can't see what he's doing, we know our God is working on our behalf. Someone once said, Even when I can't track Him, I still trust Him. That gives us joy and it gives us hope. Lamentations three twenty one-twenty six But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
Sarita Bernadette:His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul. Therefore, I will hope in Him.
Sarita Bernadette:We can move beyond regrets when we understand that the love of the Lord is steady and consistent. It never ends. He's always there. As we move ahead, we look to Him. We maintain our hope in the Lord.
Sarita Bernadette:Moving beyond regrets is a process and friends, it's a journey. But there's joy on the other side of the sea. Thank you for listening today. Thank you for joining us for Joy in Every Step. I'm Sarita Bernadette and I'm so grateful you chose to spend some time here.
Sarita Bernadette:You can find Joy In Every Step wherever you listen to your podcasts and please give us a follow there. Do check out the website at joyineverystep.org. Blessings.
Creators and Guests
