Comments on: What is the Christian approach to dealing with regrets about my past life?

By: theophilus

theophilus — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:20:59 +0000

He loves you too much to leave you; and He does not leave us where we were, either . The past you have is a big part of how He is preparing you to be a help to others…your experience helps you in helping…if that makes sense. He doesn’t leave you where you were, but your experience, under His hand, can mean the difference to someone elses faith walk…Allow God to transform your life into a thing of wisdom and depth…

If your own heart is condemning you, God is greater than our hearts, and knows all things…Let Him help you work through it, in time.

Part of the growth paradigm is that we are always aware that where we should be is out ahead of where we have attained so far…but where we are is out ahead of where we were…so look up !
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By: James

James — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:58:59 +0000

When they come to remind you of your past it is not from Him who created you. God removes our sins as far as the east is from the west. Your past is what has helped shape you into what you are today.
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By: Anointed2Prosper

Anointed2Prosper — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:45:59 +0000

You need to read and actually believe God’s word about forgiveness, accept it and learn from it. You can’t change the past and so whatever mistakes you’ve made or regrets you have the best Christian approach to dealing with them is actually letting them go!

When God forgives us he also says "i will remember your sins no more". On your way through life you ‘fell off the wagon’ so to speak and your life began moving in the wrong direction but God is awesome for what he will do when you repent is fix your path so that you begin towards the right way.

Paul said at the end of his life, ‘i have finished the race!’ Unless your about to die – and I’m assuming that your not as long as there is breath in your body God will do ALL he has planned for your life in your lifetime – so there is no need for regret! The Bible will encourage you NOT to dwell on the past but to embrace God will for you now.

Remember the Bible says, ‘He who that began a good work in you, is faithful to complete it!"Don’t waste time dealing with the effects of the past, use this time wisely to ensure your success in the future with Jesus at your side! Hope this helps. Blessings xxxxx
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1 John 1:9
Jeremiah 31:34
Hebrews 12:1
Philippians 1:6

By: Hiking the Hills with God

Hiking the Hills with God — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:30:59 +0000

Sarah, this is a great question that most people go through when transformed and now guided by the Holy Spirit. It is normal to grieve the loss of "what could have been" and you must go through the process of being angry and sad about time lost. Ask God to help you with being grateful for what you have today – that He has allowed you to be alive today and to live the rest of your life serving Him and His children here on earth. And, it is good to talk to other women about how you are feeling – it takes the power out of the sadness and helps others who do feel the same way. As humans, we can not just wake up a Christian and go – hey great! Wow! Glad it took me so many years to get here and glad I was so self absorbed and driven by sin that I haven’t accomplished what I could have and boy, I sure blew it a few times with my family and friends, but, that’s OK! Nope – gotta be sad, say your prayers, talk to friends, read the Bible and make a gratitude list (even if just in your head) of all God has allowed you to have today. You say you have forgiven yourself for your past sins…Maybe you need to revisit this and forgive yourself for your past and for the lost time. Remember, your past is the most beautiful asset you have to help someone else from going down that road or with someone who has gone down that road. I wake up in the mornings saying thank you God for allowing me to have another day in Your beautiful world. Then I say this prayer to remind myself to get out of myself and do God’s work.
"Lord make me a channel of thy peace — that where there is hatred, I may bring love — that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness — that where there is discord, I may bring harmony — that where there is error, I may bring truth — that where there is doubt, I may bring faith — that where there is despair, I may bring hope — that where there are shadows, I may bring light — that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted — to understand, than to be understood — to love, than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds. It is by forgiving that one is forgiven. It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life…
AMEN
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By: Randy G

Randy G — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:04:59 +0000

You just assume that God is in control, and that He will somehow work out everything the way that it is supposed to be in the end, no matter what mistakes you may have made.

——————————————————
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
—Romans 8:28-30 (NIV)

"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

"But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last.

—Matthew 20:8-16 (NIV)

"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm —
my great army that I sent among you.

You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the LORD your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.

Then you will know that I am in Israel,
that I am the LORD your God,
and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.

—Joel 2:25-27 (NIV)

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.

—Isaiah 61:1-4 (NIV)
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By: Shazam

Shazam — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:49:59 +0000

Dear Sarah…..
Everyone has a cross to bear….when it becomes too heavy, lay it down for awhile. Look at the stars in the night sky, there are more than you can count, pick one out, just for yourself, and name it Sarah. Then promise to yourself to learn from your mistakes and come to know that one lifetime is too short to accomplish all things. So pick one thing you regret having not done and pick up your cross again and follow your star.
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By: The Apostle Paul

The Apostle Paul — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:07:59 +0000

The past does not matter. It is like a dead dog. Christ has forgiven you for all trespasses. What is in the past is buried. Forgotten. Don't dig it up, and bring it back up on the porch. Leave it where it is: buried. What you do is be better at what you do from now on, and be thankful to God for what you have.
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By: Bernie G

Bernie G — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:55:59 +0000

hi sarah i understand what you saying but think of it like this if you never done it you wouldn't have the regret therefore can now feel the desire to accomplish in your life all that you wish and need , i am a catholic and have many regrets on many issues but i pray to god as i understand him and pick my self up and try to do better each day for me and others good luck
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By: Frankie

Frankie — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:09:59 +0000

The parts of your life which are now in the past have now passed so leave them in the past. Regretting achieves nothing unless there are some apologies you should have made but didn't. Now that you are a Christian just hand these things over to God. He knows all about them but would probably prefer you told Him about them because it will make YOU feel better. If there is anything at all that you should do about them He will make that clear but, from your description of the type of things you mean, it would seem that you should just move on and see what God has in store for you now and in the future..
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By: Monica V

Monica V — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:20:59 +0000

This is the Christian approach:

Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV)
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

All you have is what is before you. All you can do is make the best of that. Give it 100%. Imagine you were born today, and you start from hear. Forget what’s behind, and drive forward.
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