Grace for Regrets
“Now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you.”
2 Corinthians 7:9-11
I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting during this week leading up to my birthday. Another year is about to pass under the tires of my wheelchair, and I could get sidetracked with regrets. Yes, I’ve done some stupid things in my wheelchair, and I did really foolish, rebellious things when I was on my feet. But memory is selective, and I no longer feel the shame of that long-ago era. These days, I might find myself reflecting on a meeting with coworkers earlier in the afternoon. Then, I lie in bed and berate myself, thinking, “Joni, if you had only given more thought and prayer to that idea you pushed, you would’ve seen how stupid it was.”
We are all sinners and I’m certain you have regrets, too. But I’ve learned something that helps me deal with my regrets. Paul David Tripp once wrote, “It is a grace to regret. Grace allows you to face your sin, to own it, and not shift the blame. But it is also grace that forgives what has been exposed. Grace forces you to feel the pain of your regrets, but never asks you to pay for them, because the price has already been paid by Jesus.” (Tripp, Paul David. New Morning Mercies. Crossway Books, 2014.)
So now when I dig up some former transgression, I can celebrate how grace rescued me. I see the stupid and sinful things I’ve done as points of grace. I can mourn over foolish sins in a healthy way, and I can also recognize them as places where God ultimately did a redeeming work for which I can praise him!
I’m always talking about my physical weaknesses, boasting about my limitations as places where God’s grace shows up best. But I have spiritual weaknesses in which I can boast, too. I don’t have to rewrite my past and try to make myself look more righteous than I was. I can stare the truth about myself in the face and enjoy the cleansing grace of God. You can, too. Together we can be clean before the Lord and celebrate those times when we needed to be cleansed through and through. It’s all part of God’s great rescue!
Oh God, you are so merciful in not only exposing my sin but forgiving me and then providing the help to move beyond it. I’m not going to allow regret over my sin to paralyze me. I purpose to make that sin a memorial of how gracious, merciful, and forgiving you really are.
Celebrate Joni’s Birthday!
Joni Eareckson Tada is turning 74! Every donation will bring Joni joy on her birthday and help fulfill the Joni and Friends vision of creating a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ.
