Proverbs 3:5–6 (CSB)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.
The bad news is that we all have regrets. The good news is that our regrets are not the end of our story. Many times, our regrets are the beginning of the journey to redemption, which brings hope and freedom.
Let's go back to Moses and the burning bush. In God's creation, even a bush has a purpose. Moses is on the backside of the wilderness; he's been there for 40 years tending his father-in-law's sheep. He sees a bush burning, yet it is not consumed by the fire; its flame is symbolic of his Kingdom purpose. It is a purpose that God ignited within Moses—something beyond himself, beyond the ordinary—a Kingdom mandate to liberate God's chosen people from the shackles of Egyptian slavery.
Sometimes, it's something as simple as a burning bush that appears in your life; it may defy logic—an event that seems to be totally opposite of everything you understand to be reasonable. This thing serves a purpose: to stir your heart, guide your vision away from the temporary business of life, and help tune your heart into the voice of God.
Your burning bush might be a pink slip from an employer or sleepless nights in a hospital bed, or it could be the unfolding of a direction in life you never thought possible. Every aspect of the life of Moses—his early life in the palace of the Pharaoh, his 40 years on the backside of the wilderness—led him to this life altering moment at the burning bush. It was at this moment that his focus shifted from the sheep on the mountainside back to God's people in Egyptian bondage.
The sheep symbolize our worldly responsibilities, which often totally consume our focus and energy.
Now think about Moses at the age of 80, exhausted, worn down, and isolated, haunted by memories of a life of luxury and ease that he lived in Pharaoh's palace. A life that was filled with the prosperity of Egypt and the best education, the most powerful army, and the highest privilege of being adopted as the son of the most powerful man in the world. But one impulsive moment had turned his world upside down, and in one day, he went from a royal prince to a forgotten fugitive.
Have you ever wished you could go back in time and undo a decision that altered your life? Can you relate to Moses’ remorse—his regret of "what could have been" that had followed him for 40 years?
There isn't anything in this life that humbles us like pain. If you've ever lost something you held dear, if anything has ever slipped through your fingers because of your bad decisions, leaving you wanting a second chance, then you can relate to Moses.
For many people, their prayer life usually dominates a request for personal blessings, seeking how they can live their best life now. But for those Jesus followers who have bounced all over the back of the struggle bus to the backside of the wilderness, they learn a different approach to prayer. They learned to pray and ask God to remove everything from their lives that does not serve His Kingdom purpose. They learned to hold everything in this world loosely, relying on God's sovereignty and inviting God to shape their lives into His Kingdom purpose.
The enemy wants to make your past regrets a stumbling block; God wants to make them stepping stones towards your Kingdom purpose. Like Moses, we all face hardships, make mistakes, and carry the weight of our regrets. However, when we give them to God, He uses our experiences not to shackle us but to shape us. So when you find yourself lost in the wilderness of regret, remember that God sees you, He is guiding you, and He is weaving your past regrets into His Kingdom purpose. So take the next step of faith towards the Kingdom, hold everything in this world loosely, and invite God to open your eyes to how He is shaping you for His plan. Know this: Your regret is not the end of your story; God is at work, turning your past pains into a powerful testimony of his love and redeeming grace.