I think, to one degree or another, all of us have those mental reruns. But here’s the question I would like you to consider: what if our past blunders don’t get the final say over our future?
Every day, we’re creating who we’re becoming by the choices we make—big, small, impulsive, or deliberate. These choices ripple out, shaping not just us, but also our little corner of the world. So what happens when we mess up? When we cave to temptation, chase selfish desires, or stumble into sin? Are we stuck with the fallout forever?
The answer is a big NO!
The story doesn’t end with our failures—because God has a part to play in our lives as well.
I think Erwin McManus nails it in Uprising:
The future is the sum total of all the choices that are made in the present and the past. Fortunately, that sum total includes the choices made by God. (p. 237)
Think about that idea for a moment. God isn’t some cosmic spectator, arms crossed, watching us struggle. He’s in it with us, steering things in ways we might not even notice. Our wrong turns? They don’t faze Him. His choices can rewrite our trajectory when we’ve lost the way.
Romans 8:5-8 (CSB) lays it out clearly:
For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit. Now the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace. The mindset of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit to God’s law. Indeed, it is unable to do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
There is no doubt that when left to our own devices, we’re a mess.
We can’t muscle our way into the life God has for us on sheer willpower. And that is okay!
God doesn’t leave us in the chaos we created. He hands us His Spirit, His Word, His grace—everything we need to choose life over death.
And if you want proof of God’s wild commitment, Romans 5:6-11 (CSB) points us to the evidence:
For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person — though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.
That’s not us earning our salvation. That’s God saying, “I’m all in—whether you’ve got it together or not.” He chose to rescue us, not because we’re impressive, but because He is love in action.
The life and death of Jesus is the evidence we need to know that God is committed to us.
True, we can’t rewind the tape on yesterday’s mistakes. But we can choose to trust the choices God has already made for us.
When we surrender to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, something changes. We’re not just fumbling through life on our own strength anymore—we’re being shaped by a God who has the power to redeem us, no matter who we are or what we have done. Our story isn’t a highlight reel of our screw-ups. It’s an amazing collaboration between our choices and His—a God who loves, restores, and refuses to let go.
What’s one choice you’re facing today? And what might it look like to let God’s voice weigh in?
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