Regret: Sorrow over something that happened to you or something you did. (2 Corinthians 7:10, NKJV, NIV)
Wrong regrets or worldly sorrow bring death.
Material and worldly-focus vs. spiritual focus will lead to emotional and spiritual death. (Philippians 3:13-14, NIV)
Learn from your past, but don’t live in your past.
Resentment: Occurs because of past hurts.
Learn from your hurts, but don’t live in your hurts.
Hurts reduce our faith in man and increases faith in God. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5, NIV)
Resentment drains us of energy.
We can’t control what others do to us, but we can control what happens in us. (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV)
The best way to handle regret and resentment:
Focus on reconciliation, not resentment or retaliation.
Focus on forgiveness, not revenge.
Refocus on good things. (Philippians 4:8-9, NCV)
Have self-talks.
Remember the following examples:
Christ saw suffering as the solution. (Hebrews 12:2, NKJV)
Paul saw pain as a privilege. (Acts 5:40-42, NKJV)
God saw Job as worthy, not worthless. (Job 1:8, NKJV; Job 42:10, NKJV; Job 42:16-17, NKJV)
- Rich and abundant.
- Spiritually and emotionally fulfilled.
We are not saved from our problems of this world, but by faith to the glory of the next world.
The right love brings the right connections, connection brings clarity, clarity brings conviction, and conviction brings courage. (Colossians 3:13, NCV; Psalm 51:1-19, NIV)