Category Archives: Sorrow, Grief & Regrets

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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)]

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October 3, 2013

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

Letting Go

I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. [Jeremiah 29:11 (GW)]

For most of us, life hasn’t turned out as we expected it would. In some ways, it is much better, but in other ways, life took some unasked for turns. We’ve all had our share of sorrow and disappointment; shattered dreams litter our lives. Lord, remind us that those were our hopes and desires, not yours. Help us release our unattainable dreams, and the grief that accompanies them, the way we would helium balloons, letting them fly away out of sight. It’s only when we let go of what will never be that we can reach out to receive what is yet to come. Reassure us, Lord, that your plan far exceeds anything we could ever have envisioned.

 

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September 26, 2013

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Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Today: Make it Count

Today is a New Day

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Forget what happened in the past, and do not dwell on events from long ago. I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Don’t you recognize it? I will make a clear way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land. [Isaiah 43:18-19 (GW)]

Thank you, God, for the new day. Help me forget past failures and old disappointments. Open my eyes to the opportunities presented to me today.

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September 2, 2013

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Forgiveness, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets

A Clean Slate

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion, blot out my transgression. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sins. [Psalm 51:1-2 (NIV)]

God of Second Chances, thank you for your love and forgiveness. As you have forgiven me, help me to forgive myself. Let me leave my guilt behind and start this week with a clean slate.