No More Resolutions or Regrets

In 1969, Frank Sinatra recorded and released a song titled “My Way.”
The song starts out

So now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
,,,
Regrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way.

(English Words by Paul Anka. Original words of the French song “Comme d’habitude,” by Claude Francois, Gilles Thibaut, Jacques Revaux)

“The more things change, the more they remain the same.” If you want to live life your way you will probably have more than a few regrets in the end. Living life independent of God results in a life of pain and sorrow. We see the results of it everywhere we look, even in our own lives.

Life is full of decisions and choices, and when we make the wrong ones we usually have regrets. I believe that the Holy Spirit brings conviction in our regret to lead us to repentance, even down to our final breath.

It’s been said that ” the fool learns from his mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” But I believe that the fool never learns. The wise men learns from their mistakes. The genius learns from the mistakes of others.

The goal of life is to live it for Jesus and have as few regrets as possible. Our regrets shouldn’t define us, but refine us. Confess them to Jesus and receive His mercy, pardon, and power to overcome them and put them behind us.

At the end of my life, I would hope that I had won many souls to God’s Kingdom, that I had been a good son, brother, husband, father, and uncle. I would regret if I had only marginally succeeded in those areas.

If I have to die before Jesus returns, I want to die faithful, with my boots on, having left it all on the battlefield for my Savior and Lord. I want to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.” How about you?

In this new year may we let Jesus redeem last year’s regrets into confirmations of His righteousness and grace, for His glory. May we quit making promises – or even New Year’s Resolutions – which are like “ropes of sand,” impossible for us to keep. Instead may we start believing and claiming His promises, which are impossible for Him to break. If we do this we will have no more regrets or resolutions. I want to be better through the indwelling power and Grace of God, because I know that I can’t do it on my own. He deserves better.

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:13-14 NLT)

Let’s keep pressing on in Jesus’ name! Let’s run the race this year to win it. May we experience a more abundant and fulfilling new year, as day by day we draw closer to the finish line and the return of our Lord. Amen?

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Tim, you reminded me of this passage in Steps to Christ, page 47

Many are inquiring, “How am I to make the surrender of myself to God?” You desire to give yourself to Him, but you are weak in moral power, in slavery to doubt, and controlled by the habits of your life of sin. Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections. The knowledge of your broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence in your own sincerity, and causes you to feel that God cannot accept you; but you need not despair. What you need to understand is the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your thoughts will be in harmony with Him.

Desires for goodness and holiness are right as far as they go; but if you stop here, they will avail nothing. Many will be lost while hoping and desiring to be Christians. They do not come to the point of yielding the will to God. They do not now choose to be Christians.

Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life. By yielding up your will to Christ, you ally yourself with the power that is above all principalities and powers. You will have strength from above to hold you steadfast, and thus through constant surrender to God you will be enabled to live the new life, even the life of faith. SC 48.

So it's very clear that there is a work for us to do, and we need to know what that work is. It is "the right exercise of the will." We can choose. All day, every day, we can choose. We can choose to ask Him to give us strength to follow through on our choice. We can choose, like the desperate father who cried out, "Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

In each significant decision that comes our way, we can choose to do it God's way, and He will give power to our decision as we yield our will to Him. The paradox of Christianity is that in giving up our will, our will becomes stronger. In giving up our "liberty," we experience true freedom. (Ps 119:45; James 1:25)

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No More Resolutions or Regrets — 3 Comments

Inge Anderson on January 4, 2025 at 3:46 pm said:

Tim, you reminded me of this passage in Steps to Christ, page 47

Many are inquiring, “How am I to make the surrender of myself to God?” You desire to give yourself to Him, but you are weak in moral power, in slavery to doubt, and controlled by the habits of your life of sin. Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections. The knowledge of your broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence in your own sincerity, and causes you to feel that God cannot accept you; but you need not despair. What you need to understand is the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your thoughts will be in harmony with Him.

Desires for goodness and holiness are right as far as they go; but if you stop here, they will avail nothing. Many will be lost while hoping and desiring to be Christians. They do not come to the point of yielding the will to God. They do not now choose to be Christians.

Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life. By yielding up your will to Christ, you ally yourself with the power that is above all principalities and powers. You will have strength from above to hold you steadfast, and thus through constant surrender to God you will be enabled to live the new life, even the life of faith. SC 48.

So it's very clear that there is a work for us to do, and we need to know what that work is. It is "the right exercise of the will." We can choose. All day, every day, we can choose. We can choose to ask Him to give us strength to follow through on our choice. We can choose, like the desperate father who cried out, "Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

In each significant decision that comes our way, we can choose to do it God's way, and He will give power to our decision as we yield our will to Him. The paradox of Christianity is that in giving up our will, our will becomes stronger. In giving up our "liberty," we experience true freedom. (Ps 119:45; James 1:25)

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- Tim Heischberg on January 4, 2025 at 7:05 pm said:
  
  As totally true as that is, I believe that if we would simply see God as he is and fall in love with him, everything else would fall into place. It all starts with the heart, and our viewpoint of God. We can try making changes but if the heart hasn't been changed we are merely plucking leaves off the tree.
  
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John Herscher on January 7, 2025 at 4:44 am said:

Through the years I have sung that song, I'll do it God's way, of course to mayself when driving alone in my car. Same tune of course. Thanks for your testimonies Tim Heischberg and Inge Anderson.

Information down the line of what Inge Anderson shared from Steps to Christ is found in The Desire of Ages chapter 17, page 175.5. It is my favorite chapter of how to turn to Christ. Of course there are many gems of God's redeeming love through out Ellen White's writings. When we turn to God from the Holy Spirit's prompting, remembering our past mistakes and realizing His loving arms are wide open, how can we resist. I believe accepting Christ as our Saviour again, makes it had to be lost. Maybe even again and again.

How, then, are we to be saved? "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness," so the Son of man has been lifted up, and everyone who has been deceived and bitten by the serpent may look and live. "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. His love is drawing us to Himself. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Saviour. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to the will of Christ. The heart, the mind, are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things to Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart, and we can say with Christ, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God." Psalm 40:8. Desire of Ages page 175.5.

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