Regret is looking for you. It wants to suck the life out of your hopes, goals, and dreams for 2018. It wants to remind you of all of the things you set out to do this time last year, but you did not accomplish in 2017. It wants to prove to you that you are not enough, and it wants to convince you that there is no use in even trying because you will end up with the same results.

What I want you to know is that regret is a LIAR. You are enough,  you don’t have to stay chained to  the should-haves, could-haves, and would-haves of your life. Your freedom has already been divinely purchased, and it is God’s will that you walk in your freedom, be released from guilt, shame, and defeat and begin to move forward.Do Not Entertain Regret

Entertaining regret is the same as entertaining your past. The only thing your past can offer you is a run-down of who you once were. The past is static, frozen, paused. Constantly replaying your past does not benefit you because your past never considers your growth, or the lessons you have learned in your present .  Therefore, your past cannot be your motivation. Instead, your motivation has to be rooted in what’s ahead of you. If you are bold enough  to silence regret by releasing your past, then you will be able to grab your future, but you cannot do both.  You have to make a choice between being stuck in your past or moving forward into the future God has for you.

In Philippians 3:12-14, Apostle Paul acknowledges that he had not yet met his full potential. He also understood that he would never be able to, while  looking back and holding onto his past. Instead, he said,  “Forgetting those things behind me, and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press to reach the end of the race….” This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture, and the lesson for me is,  you will need every part of yourself, coupled with the unlimited power of God to reach your full potential. Therefore, you cannot allow any part of yourself to be engaged in a pity party with regret, nor can you permit any part of yourself  to be tied down to your past. All of the energy and strength that you and I have must be pointed in one direction, and that is FORWARD!

Maybe your past isn’t necessarily negative.  Perhaps you feel like “back in the day”  you were a better person, stronger, more focused, more goal oriented, healthier, in better shape, etc, and you spend your time admiring who you once were, while despising who you’ve become. Do you realize this behavior is not serving you well?

Self-rejection does not motivate you to do better, it only confirms, in your mind, your inadequacies.

It is unfair to compare who you were 1, 3, 5, or 15 years ago to who you are today.  You are not the same person. In fact, you are actually wiser, and stronger, but you can’t see that because you are only focused on the superficial aspects of who you  once were.

Let’s Move Forward NOW!

The first step to moving forward is self-acceptance.  You have to accept the beauty of who you have become. You have to embrace who you are now, and rejoice in the fact that you are still alive and standing. Because of the grace of God, you have already lived through what you thought would kill you, and your presence here on this earth today, testifies that the beauty of your story is still unfolding.  I assure you, God is still perfecting the “good work”  He began in you (Philippians 1:6).

Further, and most importantly, do you know it is disrespectful to reject what God has chosen to accept? When you reject yourself, it is like telling God He made a mistake in choosing to sacrifice His only Beloved Son, so that you could be free from sin, and experience everlasting life (John 3:16)! I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to challenge God on His decisions. So, instead of questioning why He loves you, make a decision to agree with Him by loving you too!

In addition to self-acceptance, there are 4 practices that I encourage you to implement  and engage in, as you move forward with God:

1).  Take Responsibility:

If you want to silence regret immediately,  you have to take responsibility. Take responsibility for the things that you were capable of doing, but you just did not do.  Whether it was laziness, procrastination,  lack of initiative, lack of self-discipline, low self-esteem, lack of knowledge, etc.

Own your role in your stagnation, if you own it,  it’s exposed, and your sub-conscious can no longer taunt you about it.

“For we are each responsible for our own conduct” (Galatians 6:5, NLT).

2). Take An Action Step:

Listen,  you can’t do EVERYTHING all at once that you feel in your heart you need to do. Like the old adage says,  An elephant can only be eaten,  one bite at a time.  So when you consider all of the things you feel you need to do,  I want you to decide on one thing.  Why?  Because you need to awaken the VICTOR within you because the victim has been center stage long enough!  Accomplishing your “one-thing”  awakens that sleeping  Conqueror within you, and it reminds you of who you really are. Once awakened, you just need to keep taking steps forward!

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:22,  NLT)

3). Release Your worries about your future to God:

Do you realize God cares about what you care about? There is nothing that concerns you that He is thinking,  “Oh, just get over it.”  But He wants you to trust Him with your future. He wants you to leave your worries with Him, allowing Him to orchestrate the story He has for your life. When you give Him your worries, you are liberated to do your part, knowing He is going to do HIs!!

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you”  (I Peter 5:7, NLT).

4).  Practice Gratitude Daily

Practicing gratitude daily is a deliberate step toward establishing  the continual  peace, joy ,and contentment that God desires for your life.  There is always something to be grateful for within each day, but if you don’t practice gratitude, you will focus on things to complain about. Gratitude takes your focus away from yourself, and places it on God’s goodness, and God is always GOOD!

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).

In order to accomplish all of this, you must receive the grace of God. It’s not about depending on your own strength or “will power” to propel your life forward.  You have to receive the divine empowerment of grace because God’s grace is what will give you the ability to push beyond your natural limits into His unlimited supply of  power.  I’ve heard it said this way,  “Every area of weakness in your life is an invitation for God’s strength to be made perfect within you.” So invite Him to be with you, don’t insist on going on this journey alone.

I am expecting great things for 2018, but I realize, there is nothing magical about a new year.  A new year, like a new day, a new week, and a new month, is only as great as my ability to receive the Grace of God, believe what He has said, and be a DOER of what He has instructed me.  There is no other way to be great!

I hope you will invite God into all 365 days of your new year, so that you can discover just what your life can be when you release your past, silence regret and move forward WITH Him!

And [Jesus] said,  ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in your weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my [weaknesses], that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  (2 Corinthians 12:9)

As always, thank you for reading! If this message resonates with you, I encourage you to share it, repost it, reblog it, etc.

Your hope is essential, so be diligent about keeping it ALIVE!!

Until Next Time,

I pray God’s Best for your lives today, in the new year, and always,

Sincerely,

Delanea D.