Category Archives: Sorrow, Grief & Regrets

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January 21, 2014

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Faith & Hope, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Today: Make it Count

Looking Forward

They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem. They will be radiant because of the Lord’s good gifts — the abundant crops of grain, new wine, and olive oil, and the healthy flocks and herds. Their life will be like a watered garden, and all their sorrows will be gone. The young women will dance for joy, and the men—old and young—will join in the celebration. I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing. [Jeremiah 31:12-13 (NLT)]

Lord, don’t let me spend a lifetime mourning what might have been; open my eyes to what is yet to come.

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December 31, 2013

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Holidays & Holy Days, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Thanks & Praise

New Year’s Eve – What Do You see in Your Rearview Mirror?

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. … Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord. [Psalm 107:1,43 (NLT)]

New Year’s Eve is a time we often contemplate the past year, frequently with regrets and sorrow. We ponder the many “would have’s”, “should have’s” and “could have’s” in our lives. We may have lost a loved one, suffered ill health or financial difficulty, or struggled with personal challenges.

As we enter this new year, let’s look back on the joys of 2013. Reflect on the many ways you saw the hand of God at work, the times you heard his voice or felt his embrace, the moments you knew He was guiding or even supporting you. Today, let us look at the past year with grateful hearts for the many blessings and joy God sent to us. May the rear view mirror of our minds only reflect God’s kindness and love.

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. [Psalm 103:1-2 (NLT)]

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December 28, 2013

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Family, Friends & Fellowship, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets

Remember When?

Wash away all my guilt and make me clean again. I know about my wrongs, and I can’t forget my sin. [Psalm 51:2-3 (NCV)]

As we gather with friends and family over the holidays, we may spend time reminiscing and sharing memories. “Remember when…?” we ask. Sometimes this recollecting causes us to pause and shudder. A memory of a wrong we committed rears its ugly head and we begin to feel shame and guilt. We remember the things we should have done and failed to do and the things we did that we shouldn’t have done but did. We remember harsh words, short tempers, deceitfulness, and other failings. We may remember, but, thank God, He doesn’t! Once forgiven, our sins are also forgotten.

Thank you, Lord, for your loving gifts of forgiveness and forgetfulness. Thank you, Lord, for this coming new year and another opportunity for us to get it right!

I will forgive them for the wicked things they did, and I will not remember their sins anymore.” [Jeremiah 31:34b (NCV)]

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December 26, 2013

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Forgiveness, God's Plan, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets

Let Go of the Past if You’re Going to Reach the Goal

I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal, but I continue trying to reach it and to make it mine. Christ wants me to do that, which is the reason he made me his. [Philippians 3:12 (NCV)]

It is wise to remember that, no matter how old we may be, we continue to be a work in progress. Our past, no matter how checkered it may be, should never keep us from a future of service and blessings. God doesn’t care about our past. His concern is not where and how we started our lives; his concern is where and how we finish those lives.

The apostle Paul certainly had a troubled history; he had zealously persecuted the early Christians and was even present when Stephen was martyred. Paul, however, never let his past keep him from moving forward to become the man God wanted him to be. He became the greatest Christian evangelist that ever lived. Let’s not forget, God is never finished with us. What plans does He have for you this upcoming year?

Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not yet reached that goal, but there is one thing I always do. Forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead, I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above. [Philippians 3:13-14 (NCV)]

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December 13, 2013

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God's Plan, Obedience, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Temptation & Sin

Run For Your Life

When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!” … But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt. [Genesis 19:16-17, 26 (NLT)]

Sodom was to be destroyed. Lot warned his sons-in-law who laughed and ignored him. Even Lot was tentative about leaving until the angels pulled him away. Lot finally took his wife and daughters and fled the doomed city. Unfortunately, Lot’s wife just had to take one last look back and she, too, was destroyed.

We may not live in Sodom, but we might be mired in things that can destroy us: unhealthy lifestyles, destructive habits, harmful relationships, dead-end jobs, or deepening depression. God will provide a means of escape but we are the ones who will have to take the journey. It could take professional help or simply some deep soul-searching but there may be changes we must make or we, too, will be destroyed. Being willing to make a change is not easy, but it is often necessary for our salvation. Let’s not be like Lot’s sons-in-law and ignore God’s warning or like Lot’s wife who clung to her past. Our past must never keep us from the beautiful future God has planned for us.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. [Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)]

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November 20, 2013

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Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets

Our Tears

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. [Psalm 56:8 (NLT)]

God is compassionate. He is intimately connected to all of our emotions; he knows when we cry. He is there when we shed tears at the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or the end of a relationship. He is there when a child enters rehab, when we hear the word “malignant,” and when our home is flooded. It is not, however, just tears of sorrow He collects. God is with us when we shed tears of joy at a wedding, when we’re promoted, and the first time a grandmother holds her grandchild. He is there, collecting tears, when a mother watches her child goes off to kindergarten and when that same child graduates from college. He is there when the doctor says “benign,” when we gather together for a family reunion, and when we recall the comical moments of family history. He has recorded not just our tears of pain and sorrow, but also our tears of relief, joy and laughter.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! [Psalm 139:17-18 (NLT)]