In my recent QT as I was reading the book, ‘The Will of God As A Way Of Life’ by Jerry Sittser, I was much ministered ..
As I shared in my testimony, I have much regrets and disappointment in life and in the midst of my struggles, I was led to this passage…The Choice To Go On.
There is nothing I can do to change my past or reverse the course of events that has resulted in much pain and regrets. I am reminded by the passage to move on and to trust God to redeem my past.
God will redeem our past if we let Him. He will redeem it using even our worst choices and experiences to accomplish something good.
Failure can give us clues to our calling because of past difficulties that we are inured to and are influenced by.
We must be willing to receive His forgiveness, to forgive others and to wait for God to effect the redemption we long for -
Be willing to admit our failures, take responsibility for what we have done and then accept forgiveness..
Be willing to let the past stand as it is, giving up all rights to change it, deny it or obsess about it… surrender the past to God.
It takes courage to accept forgiveness. Forgiveness never happens in a moment; it begins with a decision. We must want to forgive, choose to forgive even if we do not feel like forgiving… a willingness to give up to God the right to judge and punish the offender and begin to wish him or her well. It lets the hurt go and moves on.
Know that anger, bitterness and unforgiveness keep us from experiencing the depth of joy. It is a process not an event. It is a decision of will and not an emotion feel.
Be willing to wait for God to work things out for our good… so we wait, trusting God will somehow bring the consequences of the past on us in the form of blessings. His grace will lead to a life of no regrets and free us from bitterness.
- Yvonne K
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[Editor's Note: The book 'The Will of God As A Way of Life' was formerly titled 'Discovering God's Will' which Yvonne K had reviewed HERE.]
