Dear Lord, grant unto this dear child of yours that which she or he needs for living life to the fullest. In Jesus' Name, amen.
Jesus said, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62). Do you find yourself at times living in that special place called, "If only!"? It's an interesting place to visit, but it doesn't offer much of a life there. You get there by the only road that leads there, Regret Road. You travel there by Imagination and you think you arrive to a place that really never existed. You believe you know the folks there but there is really no one there, just you and the places you visit are the places of WhatCouldHaveBeenIfOnlyI.
Some folks invite you along, like one woman did in a class that said, "If only I had married this other guy, look where I would be! Instead of right here with this guy." Not a great place to visit and not a great trip for your spouse if you invite them along that dreary street of Regret. No one really knows what could have been, except God, and if you trusted God to get you where you are right now, you don't travel that street. That trip of looking back is exactly what Jesus was talking about when he used the illustration about a person trying to plow a row yet kept looking back. A row to grow crops is best served by the one who sets his hand and head toward the work at hand and not looking to what could have been. Regret is a heavy load to carry and one we shouldn't. You rob yourself of the joy at hand by thinking of what could have been. And by the same token one does not live well harboring regret about past sins. Paul said, "Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight." (Romans 4:7).
PRAYER: Loving God, remove my regret over past sins and give me the joy of the present, with the sure knowledge that my sins have been forgiven and forgotten. Help me to be thankful for what is, not for what could have been. Lead me to where I should and need to be. I ask this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
