How to Break a Cycle of Regret
Read Exodus 8:1
Today’s Truth
It happens to the best of us. We reach the end of a busy day, and someone asks for help with a simple task. Instead of responding with a simple yes or no, we snap. We say or do things that eight hours earlier we would have sworn would never happen. In that moment, we experience regret, but if nothing changes, we find ourselves repeating that moment over and over again.
In Exodus 8, Pharaoh goes through a similar cycle, relenting for a moment, then returning to the way things were. After each plague God sends on Egypt, Pharaoh has a moment of regret where he asks Moses to make the destruction stop. But then he goes right back to the way things were, and the cycle continues.
Discussion Questions
- Is there any area of your life where you find yourself in a constant cycle of regret? If so, what is it?
- Why is it so important that our hearts change before our behavior changes?
- What step can you take this week to move from regret to repentance? Maybe it’s a grudge you need to forgive or an unrealistic schedule you need to let go of.
Application
Breaking the cycle starts with a breaking point. We have to want to follow Jesus more than we want to be right in our own eyes. This change of heart leads to a change in behavior. 2 Corinthians 7:10 describes it this way, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
God sent Pharaoh a way out of regret in the form of Moses’ constant invitation to repent, and He extends the same invitation to each of us through Jesus’ death on the cross. Saying yes to Jesus’ invitation gives us the power to change, but it’s only when we acknowledge our brokenness that we’re motivated to make a change.
