Regrets - Devotion for 6/12/07

Regrets – Devotion for 6/12/07

Do you have any regrets? As I look back over my life, I can think of very few. There are many things that if I could do things over I might would do them differently, but I wouldn’t necessarily call that a regret, because each experience I have had has shaped me into the person I am now. Now day to day I may have small regrets, such as regretting that I maybe said something to someone that I shouldn’t have or what not, but those regrets usually pass by pretty quickly. But for me, the type of regret that sticks in my crawl is the regret over not doing something that I just felt that I should have.

One day recently I was on my way into the hospital to visit with someone, and as I was walking past the emergency entrance, a SUV came squealing into the parking lot, and came to a screeching halt right behind the ambulances. I suddenly heard shouting and screaming as I presume a mother and father got out the SUV and the dad carrying what appeared to be about a 10 year old girl, and the mom was screaming, “Look at her, she’s getting pale!” As the dad was carrying the girl into the ER, security guards were coming out and yelling at the mom and dad about needing to move their car. One of the guards physically got in front of the mom ordering her to move the car, and mom was just beside herself that as her child was being carried into the ER, she was actually going to have to move the car. I kept walking. The mom moved the car, and was able to get back into the ER. But I felt such incredible regret that I did not go over to them, hand them my card, and ask if I could move her car for her. At that moment, I was feeling that pull telling me I should do something, but I just kept walking. I knew I was supposed to at least try to help, but I did nothing. I believe that it is those “do nothing/keep walking” moments that create the most difficult regrets.

My devotional reading time today came from Galatians 5:16-26, and years ago I memorized one of those verses. Galatians 5:25 states, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” If we as Christians profess Jesus Christ as Lord, then the Spirit is with us, guiding us and strengthening us. But the Spirit is guiding and strengthening us for something, and the Spirit is leading us into those moments where our strength will be utilized. If we live by the Spirit, we can’t pick and choose the situations that we will be guided to. If we live by the Spirit, we can’t simply plan out our course. If we live by the Spirit, the Spirit will put us into situations that we would not have chosen on our own. And in those moments, we will be faced with a potential regret. If we live by the Spirit, will we also walk by the Spirit? To walk by the Spirit means to take each step of the Christian life under the strength and guidance of the Spirit. If we live by the Spirit, then when we feel those nudges or those pullings as I did that day at the hospital, then we will not keep walking on our path, but we will walk in the Spirit. Don’t live your life with regrets. Trust and obey the guidance of the Spirit.