Friday Fight 36 - Shouda, Wouda, or Couda

Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help me fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF36.

How often do we find ourselves regretting something from our past? Maybe we hurt ourselves or others long ago. We asked God to forgive, and we moved on. Yet now, months later, emotions resurface. Our past finds its way back into our thoughts. We’re enjoying a day, and suddenly we think about a past pain or mistake.

Then the questions flood in, especially ones starting with “Shouda, Wouda, or Couda”.

How often are we posturing ourselves with a mental perspective involving phrases like these? They drag us back into the past, causing us to relive our failures, fears, and fallout we’ve experienced.

Perhaps the hurt was relational, financial, or a devastating decision within our family. Now we can’t seem to move beyond our decision or the decisions of others. Often the pain leaves us heartbroken and alone with our thoughts.

Time only moves in one direction; regardless of how much we beat ourselves up, we cannot change the past.

Yet our minds spin the other possibilities: “If I had only done ____ different… or said ______ instead.”

Satan will do all he can to lead us back to our past mistakes. Regret and resentment are the two responses Satan desires. We burden ourselves with regret when we wish to change a past action. Darkness will use these to destroy relationships, sever families, and open doors to ineffective pain-numbing addictions. Instead, it only contaminates us more.

If we’re not careful, these poisonous phrases can become a subconscious habit, exposing us to a constant bombardment of spiritual and mental defamation.

How do we find freedom from this ruthless criticism?

→ We forgive ourselves, acknowledging the forgiveness an all-knowing and eternally powerful God showed us.

→ We move forward, recognizing the future God has for us.

→ We show unmerited grace to our former heart and soul, as Jesus did on Calvary.

This Christmas, the best present we can give to ourselves and others, is to let the past go. We must greet each day with that same choice to forgive, move forward, and show grace.

Pastor Shannon
New Life Calvert

Psalm 103:12