I have cultivated the habit of taking measure of where I am emotionally and spiritually by noting how I feel in those first few moments when I’m emerging from sleep in the morning. Through this practice, I have learned to spot peace, frustration, anger, hurt, joy, happiness, love, jealousy, and a wide range of emotions first thing in the morning before my feet even touch the floor.
Some years ago while doing this emotion scan on a Saturday morning, I noticed that the feeling I woke up with was that of no regrets from the night before. I lay in bed, lapping up that feeling. After all the emotional battles of the previous few years, the feeling of relief got my attention. It was the first time I recognized this, and I let myself to enjoy it. Where had this come from? There were many things still not right side up in my life, so what had I done to bring me to this place?
For many years before, Friday nights used to be mistake nights, fight nights, or too-much-alcohol-nights, and where I chalked up regrets that could be felt even in my first waking moments the following day.
A law of nature is that you reap what you sow. And when you start to make lifestyle choices that are good for your body, mind, and emotions, you will reap the benefits. I had consistently allowed the Word of God to influence my decisions, including what I did on Friday nights. So here I was waking up on Saturday mornings without an emotional or physical hangover from the previous night.
You may need to walk away from something in your life that is causing you regret and the Word of God can help you. Many of you have so many different things going on that I cannot even begin to imagine, and I don’t want to come across as flippant about those struggles. I do know, though, from my own life experience, that staying in relationship with Jesus and choosing obedience to the Word, will influence your life and bring about change. If you sow into those, allowing the Holy Spirit to teach, guide, and empower you, you will reap a harvest in your own life. Of that I’m sure.
As you walk with Jesus, allowing His teachings to change and mold you into the new person He wants you to be, daily choices will undoubtedly lead to a no-regrets life that will grow your faith in God. There will still be things you want fixed in your life and things you want to accomplish. Living without regret from your lifestyle choices will increase your faith that God is working those things out for your good.
In the Christian walk, we are becoming better people with God’s help, but we aren’t perfect. We will fail. Sometimes, we know we haven’t lived up to the best we could have been. God invites us to feel Godly sorrow when we find ourselves in those situations and then to repentance. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10.
Repentance is not just saying sorry to God but also deliberately walking away from that lifestyle choice that we are repenting of. He forgives us when we genuinely repent, and we take the additional step of choosing over and over not to repeat whatever we repent for. Sometimes, we make giant steps; sometimes, the steps are tiny. Occasionally, we may even take some steps backward. The key is to keep going in a forward direction, even if there are times when we can’t stand and have to crawl toward the goal.
In this transformation journey, each step forward, no matter how small, contributes to achieving our goal of a no-regret life. Deciding to move on and away from past mistakes propels us toward this life.
It’s a persistent movement, guided by the belief that, as we keep going, we’ll reach the destination of a life with no regrets – a long obedience in the same direction.
The Bible encourages us to do just that. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Gal 6:9 NIV). Every time we make a decision and take a step that leads us away from the lifestyle choice we are working to change, we are doing good for ourselves and for the people we influence.
So, keep believing. Keep doing the good you know to do. Keep walking in the direction the Holy Spirit provides for you, as small as the light for the next step might be. And allow others to help you because you don’t have to do it alone.
We don’t like to hear it, but often, the only way out is through, and one day, you’ll wake up and realize that God has been beyond what you ever imagined faithful to be. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” (2 Chron 16:9). Keep believing, keep doing, keep walking, living without regrets is a great goal to have, and it is achievable with the Holy Spirit’s help.
©Debbie Mendoza, January 2024. Updated June 2026.
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