I’m a know-needer. It’s not that I think I know it all, but that I want to know it all. The “what-ifs” of life are maddening to me. When they come up, I tend to identify every possibility and follow it to its end. At least that way I feel that I’ll know what to do with whichever option comes true. And at least then I won’t have to live with regrets…right?
No matter how much we try to know, we don’t know it all. There are always opportunities we can’t see. The Lord is always at work on something we don’t even know needs work. It seems that knowledge, no matter how fervently we chase it, eludes us in some ways.
Relying too heavily on our limited knowledge leaves us with regrets…or at least in the position of having to decide between making choices based on what we know versus what we believe.
Have you had to make a choice that you knew was right but that you thought you would regret? I have. Over and over again.
A long time ago, I turned down a job offer. For a position I’d prayed for for years. Every bit of limited knowledge I had said “make it work,” that this was the opportunity I’d been waiting for. The Lord told me no. When I said yes to Him and no to the offer, I thought I would regret it soon.
The next day, another call came. Another offer. The same kind of position –but somewhere else with better hours and better pay (and what turned out to be amazing people.) And it came with the peace of the Lord.
All I had to do was wait one day. I couldn’t have known what was coming. I couldn’t have known that it could get better than that first offer seemed. I couldn’t have known that regret for a day would be erased by the Lord to make the slate clean.
Thank the Lord –He knew. Thank the Lord –He even washes our regrets anew!
That’s what happens when we regret and the Lord erases it. We take a slate that we’ve muddied and dirtied with doubt and with whole reliance on reason, and we toss it out. Regret makes it seem like there is no turning back and that slate is now useless forever. He erases it, He makes it clean.
Romans 8:27-28 tells us that “He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” (MSG)
Who would have thought that even our regrets could be used for the good of those who love Him?
Who would have thought that even our regrets could be used for the good of those who love Him?@BethanyMcIlrath Click To TweetFor all the ways my knowledge fails me, I’ve found the Lord does not. Even when I fail. Even when my choices seem backwards, but right. He erases regret because regret it about my way –and when that slate is clean, He makes beautiful works of art that are better than anything I could ever dream.
Today I’m glad I turned down that job.
I’m glad that money has kept us at times from making decisions to do things more “typically” because we’ve had some amazing relationships out of it. I’m glad for some of my worst moments because, without some of the mistakes and brokenness I’ve regretted, I would never have let people into my heart as far as I have. These are some of my anti-regrets. These are what keep me saying “Yes, Lord” when I want to say “no.”
{A version of this post was previously published elsewhere}
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Thank you, Bethany!
Happy July!
To you, too, Michele!
This is profound. Your wait was one day but many spend years waiting and that’s where faith waffles. But as you demonstrated he is with us in the wait.
God is with us in the wait- the long, slow kind and the short, intense kind. Praise Him!
Bethany, it seems the Lord often has us say yes to Him before He shows us why. Love your story because it reminds us that He always deserves our yeses to Him even when it means saying no to something that looks good. He only gives good gifts, so if He says “no,” it’s not good for us.
Amen, Debbie! Thank you for the wisdom on this. Yes, He always deserves our “yeses” even when it means “no” to something else.
I know just what you mean; I classify as a know-needer too. 🙂 It can get me in trouble at times; it can save me trouble at times. But at its root, I know I have to let go of the need to know and just know that God knows! Thanks for sharing your story about the job. There are many things that we’ll never understand in the flesh, but thankfully God continues to point us in the right directions in the spirit.
Glad I’m not the only one, Lisa! Knowing God knows everything is peace! Praise Him for pointing us right in the Spirit.
Amen! He brings beauty of of the ashes! He knows what we are going to do and He already has a plan for our mistakes. He truly can work all thing our for good, Rom 8:28 It says ALL things not some things. we can tend to skim over than not letting it really sink in. Appreciate your open honesty, I imagine it was hard to turn down that job, not know what God had in store. It takes a strong faith, and He rewards that. Many Thanks 8)
Thanks for the encouragement and reminder, Debra! Yes, He does say ALL things!! I love looking back on that job situation now and marveling at His faithfulness!
That is so good to hear, it gives me a breath of fresh air today.
Praise God for a breath of fresh air!
Great analogy, Bethany. I’ve never heard the term, “know-needer” before, but I like it because I relate. Such a powerful story of how you only waited one day on God’s “better” plan. And how He knew what was coming. I hope that inspires me to wait well and to let God erase my regrets!
Thank you, Karen! I’m glad you relate! I hope the story helps you (and me again and again haha) to trust Him knowing He Knows what’s coming and how to work it all for good!