What does the Bible say

What Does the Bible Say About Regret?

The Bible does not erase the past, but it refuses to let the past have the last word. God is able to restore the years that were lost, to work all things together for good, and to make his mercies new every morning. Godly regret can turn us toward change, while worthless regret only sinks us, and Scripture points us to the first.

What Scripture says

Here are real verses on regret, each in the King James Version, with a word on what it means.

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.2 Corinthians 7:10 (KJV)

Godly sorrow works repentance that leads to life, while the sorrow of the world works death.

And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.Joel 2:25 (KJV)

God promises to restore the years the locust has eaten, redeeming even wasted time.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,Philippians 3:13 (KJV)

Paul forgets what is behind and reaches forward, refusing to be ruled by his past.

It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.Lamentations 3:22 (KJV)

God's mercies are new every morning, so no day is beyond a fresh start.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.Romans 8:28 (KJV)

God works all things together for good to those who love him, even our mistakes.

Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.Isaiah 43:18 (KJV)

God tells us not to remember the former things, because he is doing a new thing.

What this means for you today

Regret becomes useful when it moves you toward God and toward change, and it becomes a prison when it only replays what cannot be undone. Scripture gently pulls you from the second to the first.

You cannot rewrite your history, but you can hand it to a God who redeems. Many of the people he used most had painful regrets, and he did not waste a single one of them.

The deepest answer is Jesus

Peter wept bitterly over denying Jesus, yet the risen Christ sought him out and gave him back his calling; that is what Jesus does with regret.

Every one of these Scriptures points beyond itself to a Person. The deepest answer the Bible gives to any human need is not a rule or a technique but Jesus Christ, who came, lived, died, and rose again so that you could be forgiven and brought home to God. He said, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Whatever you are carrying, you do not have to carry it alone, and you do not have to make yourself clean first. You can come to him today, just as you are.

This is the good news the whole Bible is telling. We were made for God, we have all turned from him and gone our own way, and none of us can fix that on our own. But God did not leave us there. Out of love he sent his Son to take our place, bearing our wrong on the cross and rising again to open the way back to the Father. Everyone who turns to Jesus and trusts him is forgiven, given new life, and welcomed as a beloved child of God, held by a love that will never let go. That is why the Bible's answer to every topic on this page finally leads here. You can respond right now, in your own words, simply telling God you need him and asking Jesus to be your Saviour and Lord. He hears the honest prayer of anyone who comes.

Related: Bitterness · Shame · Guilt · Insecurity · Feeling Worthless · All topics