Resentment and Regret

When we get upset about how someone acts or how they treat us, we tend to be resentful toward them. We believe, in our minds, they should act one way; however, they continue to act another. It may be their actions are not wrong. It may just be we want them to be different so we resent them because they aren’t doing what we feel they should be doing.

Resentment can cause us to lose focus on who God wants us to be because we become wrapped up in what we think others should be. When we are trying to change others or we are busy paying attention to what they are doing, we can’t be doing what God wants us to do because we are too busy holding a grudge or having ill feelings toward that person.

Proverbs 27:3 “A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier.”

When we have regrets about something we said or did, we need to be aware of what the regret is really about. When we regret the things we did that pulled us away from God, we can learn from our regrets and repent. When we regret the things we don’t have in the world or something we didn’t do to gain worldly possessions, we are dwelling too much on worldly things rather tha
God.

When we have regrets, we need to determine what type of regret we have. If it is something we should have done in line with God’s will for us, we need to ask God to lead us away from our sin and forgive us. If the regret is of the world, we need to ask God to help us move our focus away from the world and move toward Him and what His will is for us.
2 Corinthians 7:10 “For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.”

Resentment and regrets put the focus on us and on others rather than on God. When we are filled with resentment and regrets, we are not filled with the joy, the peace and the love God wants us to have in our lives. We can’t see when we are blinded by resentment and regrets. When we are busy thinking about what we should have done or what others should do, we can’t do the will of God and really make a difference.

We really need to focus only on what God wants us to be doing. We need to go to Him and ask Him to help us get past the resentment we are feeling for others. We need to ask Him to help us move away from being conce
ed with their actions and, instead, take the actio
God wants us to take. We need to ask God to help us not regret what we have or haven’t done and ask for forgiveness so we can move on.

When we can get past the resentment and regretful feelings we have, we can then begin to live as God wants us to live. We can have that joy, that peace and that love where we are able to see the good in others and help them. We can spend more time in God’s word and determine what He wants us to do. When we can get past the resentment and regrets, we can make a difference God wants us to make.