Aug 27, 2020
“I wished I lived a life true to myself and not what others expected of me” Essentialism by Greg McKeown
I want you to take a moment to close your in your 80s or 90s- or maybe your already there. Imagine you are having a conversation with your children, or niece or sister or brother. You think you’ve lived a great but now the pressure’s on. What life lessons, if any, do you have to share with them?
It is here it dawns on you that the most important thing your loved one needs to hear is not all that you’ve accomplished but how to not make the same mistakes you did. In other words, they need to know how to best make it through this life and God is using YOUR VOICE to help this person. This is your destiny.
Don’t get me wrong, your accomplishments are special and unique and worthy noting, but the key to helping others lies in the internal hope that you provide them. At the end of the day, this hope is what will give them accomplishment anyway.
Are there any regrets in your life? What do you wish you would have done better?
Ask yourself.
Is living in my comfort zone worth living in regret? We know that anything great, was never achieved overnight. Instead, it takes trial and error, patience, and time. But it will not always be comfortable. Do we want comfortable or do we want progress?
Have you achieved everything you want to achieve? Are you fulfilled on the inside? Are you learning from you mistakes. Are you happy?
These are the things that will help us to live a fulfilled life, not free of problems, but free of regret. Because, hey, you tried, and you are learning and growing.
God did not design us to have a miserable life. That is actually the enemy’s objective. Most of the time the enemy does a good job because we allow him too.
But God has a good plan if we allow Him to work.
I have designed you for good works prepared in advance.” “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
We were saved by grace-which is a gift from God- we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us to do.
When you are living with regrets, you are not doing the good works God prepared for you to do…if you were you would be at peace.
Living a regret-free life means doing the things that light your soul on fire. If what your “life” involves hurting others-the very act of hurting others means you are not within the will of God and you must find your soul and your identity in Christ before you find your purpose.
But, if your intentions are good and you give credit to your Creator then you must live with intention.
In my own life, of course I wished I didn’t waste so many years doing stupid stuff…but If I died tomorrow I would have no regrets because Today I try to become a better person.
So, do I regret drinking, and partying in my 20s?
No. Why? Because that experiences were warning signs and I answered the call. I woke up.
WE ALL DO STUPID STUFF. It’s our ability to pick ourselves up and move…to change for the better..that will set us on the right course and live a life free of regrets.
To live a life truly free of regrets we must discover who we are in Christ..the mistakes will come but as we come to know God we discover that we are not our mistakes but we are who God says we our…then we discover our God-given purpose, our perspective shifts.
What about the man or woman that didn’t know God and was fatally shot? Do you think that had regrets? We will never know because they are dead.
This is what you and I have to get…all we have is today. Today to try. Today to shift our focus so that we have the chance for change so that when and if we make it to 80 we can tell of Christ instead of pondering on our mistakes.
Job, Joseph, Paul ..all the greats in the Bible lived incredibly fulfilling…not easy…but fulfilling lives because they never quit when the going gets tough…they completed their calling and their lives are a testimony to the greatness of God. Which is the point of our lives…
God wants us to live a life that is reflective of Him. And in that we find joy.
What we have is today. You listening to my voice is your sign/motivation that today you can choose to learn from your past. – pick yourself up and intentionally choose to do the things that bring you joy.
I would have never known what brought me true joy until I discovered the things that were destroying me. I thought maybe drinking would bring me joy, I thought perhaps partying would bring me joy but all these things were short-lived and served as a cover-up for the better potential within me.
Brainstorm- In what area do you need to grow?
The easiest way to live a regret-free life is to a.) do the things that bring you joy, b.) Live intentionally (we can’t just drift through life or our purpose may pass us by), and c.) learn and move on from you mistakes.
Where is your focus today?
Are you focusing on worldly things?
Or, is your focus on God.
Because what we focus on will grow.
So, if we are focusing on Facebook, negativity, or our bad emotions, the current crisis of the world- this will never be enough. Why? Because these things are not fulfilling and therefore we will certainly have regrets.
ON THE OTHER HAND, what if you choose to focus on God who is good, who knows your purpose. God who is for you and not against you? Scripture
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31
First off, if you don’t know God please invite Him into your heart today.
Then you will have The Holy Spirit to guide you in Truth…
What’s the Holy Spirit’s purpose??
To guide you and direct your path…to ensure that you have NO REGRETS.
WARNING: Expect for your mind to wonder because if you’re doing something good for God-the enemy will always try and trip you up.
Thankfully we have God who and His Holy Spirit that will direct us back on course.
Remember God uses all things for the good and that means your current situation, that very thing you are wondering about.
I must confess I stress about my purpose all the time – These horrible invading thoughts especially when I start to make progress. DO I GIVE IN TO THESE THOUGHTS..WELL. MAYBE I START TO ..BUT I QUICKLY RECOGNIZE THESE THOUGHTS DO NOT SERVE ME OR OTHERS FOR THE BETTER..SO I CAST THEM DOWN.
But what’s the alternative?
I don’t like the alternative. The alternative frustrates men and is non-fulfilling.
My challenge for you today is to strive for something more. TO NOT JUST DO MORE, BUT TO BE MORE.
Maybe you need to start a new project—
WELL BEING MORE WOULD INVOLVE STARTING A NEW PROJECT BUT BELEIVING IN YOURSELF OR ASKING GOD FOR HELP.
Because we know that nothing great was achieved overnight but we welcome slow progress rather than overnight success because we are seeking to find true everlasting fulfillment that can only come from the one True Source of Joy Jesus Christ.Whatever it is start today and every day take one small action at a time ---working to achieve more, becoming a better person.
Speaking of slow progress, when we don’t get what we want when we want it, it would be beneficial to us to be a master at persistence. Many of the great men and woman in the Bible need persistence and patience. It’s no different today that many of us need persistence and patience. So in the next episode PERSISTANCE is the star of the show.
That’s it! I hope you enjoyed today’s episode. See you next time!