Scar Tissue

The Amazing Power of Regret can Shape Our Future

In 1995 there was a man living in Liverpool who played the same set of lottery numbers every week. One week, when he failed to renew his ticket, his numbers came in. His distress over losing what he thought was millions of dollars (a fact he actually ended up being wrong about), was so unbearable that he committed suicide.

That is an example of the Power of Regret. The kind of regret that happens when we see the difference between how a situation is and how it could have been had we made a different choice.

Imagine if you were offered a trip back in time so you can undo your biggest regret. If you could live your life all over again, what’s the one thing you would do differently?

Who we are today is a direct result of our past.  We all have scars and wounds from the words and actions of others and from our own failures and mistakes.  But for the Christ-follower this is not the end of the story.

As the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to remake us into new creations, these scars from the past become stepping stones to spiritual maturity.  Embrace these top ten principles from God's word and allow Him to rebuild your battered self-esteem:

10) I am created
For we are God's workmanship. (Ephesians 2:10)

9) I am chosen
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you... (1 Timothy 1:4)

8) I am protected
Protect me as you would the pupil of your eye. (Psalm 17:8)

7) I am complete
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3)

6) I am victorious
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37)

5) I am called
[God] has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace... (2 Timothy 1:9)

4) I am forgiven
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

3) I am free
Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32)

2) I am loved
 I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. (Jeremiah 31:3)

1) I am accepted!
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)

Prayer: 

  

 Lord I thank you for saving me and loving me with an unconditional love. I give you my my past and I now look at these scars as a reminder of your Grace. Let me now look at myself the way you see me, redeemed and loved. I love you God and help me live it out!