Posted on March 20, 2011 at 10:10 PM //
It’s been a hard week. I decided a week ago I would write about this. Then… it hit. Satan attacked viciously. I have spent the last week reliving past hurts, remorse over situations I should have handled differently, and regret over old sin. The crazy thing is this topic didn’t even start because of something I was going through. My best assumption is that this message is for someone and satan doesn’t want it out. So, here goes.
Have you ever had those moments where you sinned, asked for forgiveness, and then months or even years later you still feel terrible about it? Have you ever gone through something where you have been so hurt by someone? Or have your hurt someone? Can you remember any missed opportunities? Has God ever told you to do something and you didn’t do it?
Some of these questions might have made you cringe or made you feel sad when you thought about them. If that’s the case you could define those feelings as regret or remorse.
Regret is defined as a sense of loss, disappointment, dissatisfaction; a feeling of sorrow or remorse for a fault, act, loss, disappointment, etc. Remorse is defined as deep and painful regret for wrongdoing.
This is where I have been this week. I have been feeling this deep sense of pain of past hurts and sorrow for past wrongs. But I have this thought regarding regret and remorse. The thought is that these regrets should only have presence enough in our lives to minister from them. They shouldn’t have enough presence to sting every time you think about them. I have been able to minister to a lot of people through my testimony, and the Bible says in Revelation 12:11 that we have the power to overthrow satan with the power of our testimony. People say you can learn from mistakes; yours or someone else’s.
Do you have any areas where you feel this constant sting? If it is remorse for sin, know that God will forgive you, and if you have already asked, He already has. If it is pain from a past hurt, you might need to forgive. If it is regret for not handling a situation the right way, you need to know again God has forgiven you and you may need to forgive yourself. Psalm 103:12 says, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”
Use these experiences as part of your testimony and help show others the power of God’s love and forgiveness. And in the name of Jesus, let that sting be gone forever.
Written by Tess Hemphill
Fine commentary from readers like you