English 
Arabic 
Spanish 
Portuguese 
Chinese 
Russian 
French 
Italian 
German 
Japanese 
Dutch Category 1: The Nature and Pain of Regret
This group of verses explores the emotional and spiritual weight of regret, distinguishing between the sorrow that leads to death and the sorrow that leads to life.
2 Corinthians 7:10
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
Reflection: This verse offers a crucial distinction for the aching heart. It separates the life-giving sorrow that turns us back toward relationship and healing, from the corrosive sorrow that fixates on our failure and leads only to despair. Godly sorrow is a catalyst for change, a sacred pain that purifies the soul. Worldly sorrow, however, is a destructive cycle of self-condemnation, a shame that isolates and ultimately destroys the self.
Psalm 38:4
“My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.”
Reflection: Here, the psalmist gives voice to the crushing emotional and physical weight of unresolved guilt. Regret is not merely a thought; it is a visceral experience, a load that bows the back and clouds the spirit. This verse validates the profound sense of being buried by our past actions, acknowledging that this burden is too much for any person to carry alone.
Romans 7:15
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”
Reflection: Paul articulates the maddening internal conflict that gives birth to regret. This is the cry of a soul that observes its own self-sabotage, caught in a pattern of behavior that contradicts its deepest values. It speaks to the feeling of being a stranger to oneself, creating a deep well of frustration and sorrow over our own moral powerlessness.
Proverbs 28:13
“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
Reflection: This Proverb reveals the psychological futility of suppressing our failures. Concealment is an internal prison; it breeds anxiety and prevents authentic connection. The path to flourishing—to genuine prosperity of the soul—is through the vulnerable act of confession. It is in bringing our regrets into the light, before God and trusted others, that the suffocating grip of shame is broken and mercy can begin its healing work.
Psalm 51:17
“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
Reflection: This illuminates the posture of healthy regret. God doesn’t desire our self-flagellation or endless shame. He responds to authenticity and vulnerability. A “broken spirit” is not a destroyed one; it is one that has been opened up by sorrow, defenses shattered, ready to be remade. It is in this state of humble contrition that we are most receptive to divine grace and transformation.
Job 42:6
“Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
Reflection: Job’s regret is profound, born not just from specific actions but from a fundamental misunderstanding of his place before God. This is the sorrow that comes from a moment of searing self-awareness, of seeing our own arrogance and pride in the light of divine holiness. It is a painful but necessary moment of ego-death that precedes true wisdom and a right-sized view of ourselves.
Category 2: Biblical Examples of Regret
These verses show regret in action through the lives of key biblical figures, providing powerful case studies in both destructive and redemptive sorrow.
Matthew 27:3-5 (The Regret of Judas)
“When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver… ‘I have sinned,’ he said, ‘for I have betrayed innocent blood.’ …So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.”
Reflection: Judas embodies “worldly sorrow.” His remorse was intense, a searing agony of guilt. He confessed his sin and recognized its gravity, yet his regret led not to the hope of forgiveness but to the finality of self-destruction. His story is a tragic warning that feeling sorry is not enough; without being channeled toward a source of grace, regret can become a fatal poison.
Matthew 26:75 (The Regret of Peter)
“And Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.”
Reflection: Peter’s regret is just as intense as Judas’s, but its fruit is entirely different. His bitter weeping was not the end of his story, but the crucible through which his pride was burned away. This was a “godly sorrow,” a brokenness that, rather than driving him to despair, emptied him of self-reliance and made him ready for his restoration by the risen Christ. His failure became foundational to his future ministry.
Psalm 51:3-4 (The Regret of David)
“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”
Reflection: After his catastrophic moral failure with Bathsheba, David models the core of true repentance. He doesn’t minimize or rationalize his sin. He owns it fully, acknowledging its presence is a constant, haunting feature of his conscience (“always before me”). Crucially, he frames his failure primarily as a relational breach with God, which is the first step toward seeking and receiving true relational repair.
Luke 15:17-19 (The Regret of the Prodigal Son)
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’”
Reflection: This is a portrait of regret as a catalyst for action. The son’s sorrow is not a passive state of misery; it is a moment of clear-sighted self-assessment (“he came to his senses”) that immediately translates into a plan. His rehearsed speech shows a heart that has accepted the consequences of its actions and is willing to return in utter humility, expecting nothing but poised to receive everything.
Hebrews 12:16-17 (The Regret of Esau)
“See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.”
Reflection: Esau represents a sorrow that is too late and focused on the wrong thing. His tears were not for the godlessness of his choice, but for the loss of its benefits. This is the regret of consequence, not of contrition. It is a powerful illustration that some choices have an irreversible finality, and grieving the outcome is not the same as grieving the heart that produced it.
1 Timothy 1:15-16 (The Regret of Paul)
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience…”
Reflection: Paul demonstrates a healed and integrated regret. He never forgets the gravity of his past as a persecutor of the church—he calls himself the “worst of sinners.” Yet, he does not live there. He has reframed his regretful past as the very canvas upon which God’s immense patience and mercy are most brilliantly displayed. He holds the memory of his sin without the shame, transforming it into a testimony of grace.
Category 3: God’s Forgiveness, the Antidote to Regret
These verses offer the divine solution to the human problem of regret: the promise of total forgiveness and cleansing.
1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Reflection: This verse is a divine prescription for the soul sick with regret. It anchors our healing not in our feelings, but in God’s character—His faithfulness and justice. The promise is twofold: forgiveness (a legal and relational pardon) and purification (an internal cleansing of the stain of shame). It is an invitation to exchange the closed loop of regret for the open arms of a trustworthy God.
Psalm 103:12
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
Reflection: This offers a powerful cognitive and emotional image to counter the persistent feelings of guilt. East and west are directions that can never meet. This is not a partial or temporary removal; it is an absolute and final separation. For the person whose regret feels ever-present, this verse is a command to reorient the mind to the reality of God’s forgiveness, which is infinitely more vast than our memory of failure.
Isaiah 1:18
“‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be as wool.’”
Reflection: This is a tender invitation from God to confront our deepest regrets head-on. The imagery of scarlet and crimson speaks to sins that are vibrant, stark, and seemingly permanent—they stain our very identity. The promise of becoming white as snow is a promise of total transformation, not just covering the stain but restoring the fabric of the soul to its original purity. It counters the feeling that we are forever defined by our worst moments.
Romans 8:1
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Reflection: This is perhaps the most powerful declaration against the self-condemnation that fuels regret. It is a final verdict from the highest court. For the soul that acts as its own prosecutor, judge, and jury, replaying its failures endlessly, this verse announces that the case is closed. The gavel has fallen in our favor not because of our innocence, but because of our position “in Christ Jesus.” It liberates us from the courtroom of our own minds.
Micah 7:19
“He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”
Reflection: This verse uses vivid, almost violent imagery to describe the finality of God’s forgiveness. Our sins are not just forgiven; they are conquered (“tread underfoot”) and disposed of in a place from which they cannot be retrieved (“depths of the sea”). It speaks to the passionate, active nature of God’s grace in dealing with the regrets that threaten to resurface in our hearts.
Ephesians 1:7
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
Reflection: This verse grounds our release from regret in a historical, objective event: the work of Christ. Our forgiveness is not a cheap or casual thing; it was purchased at an ultimate cost. Knowing this both deepens our appreciation for grace and solidifies our security. The “riches” of God’s grace means the supply of forgiveness will never run out, no matter the depth or frequency of the failures we regret.
Category 4: Moving Forward from Regret to Restoration
This final group focuses on the hopeful and forward-looking posture that is possible after regret has been met by grace.
Philippians 3:13-14
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Reflection: Paul models the healthy psychology of the redeemed life. The past, with its failures and regrets, is not to be the object of our fixation. “Forgetting” here is not a passive amnesia but an active choice to no longer allow the past to define the present or limit the future. It’s a conscious redeployment of our energy from rumination on what was to “straining toward” what can be in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
Reflection: This is the foundational truth that makes moving past regret possible. It is a declaration of a radical identity shift. We are not merely forgiven sinners; we are fundamentally new creatures. The “old”—the self that made the regrettable choices—has passed away. To live in regret is to live as if this glorious transformation has not occurred. Embracing our new identity is the key to leaving the old self’s failures behind.
Isaiah 43:18-19
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Reflection: This is a direct command from God to shift our mental focus. “Do not dwell on the past” is divine counsel against the corrosive habit of rumination. God’s energy is always moving toward the “new thing.” He calls us to lift our eyes from the wasteland of our past regrets and to perceive the hope He is actively creating in our present reality. It’s an invitation to participate in His work of restoration.
Joel 2:25
“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…”
Reflection: This verse speaks directly to one of the most painful aspects of regret: the sense of wasted time and lost opportunity. It contains the staggering promise that God’s redemptive power extends even to the “locust years” of our lives. He can bring value, meaning, and blessing out of the very periods we have written off as a total loss, demonstrating that no part of our story is beyond His ability to redeem.
Lamentations 3:22-23
“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Reflection: For the person waking up each day to a fresh wave of regret, this verse is a lifeline. It reframes the morning not as a return to yesterday’s failures, but as an experience of a fresh serving of divine mercy. It means yesterday’s grace was for yesterday’s struggle, and today’s new regret is met with today’s new compassion. It breaks the cycle of shame with the rhythm of daily renewal.
Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Reflection: This is the ultimate re-framing of a past filled with regret. It does not say that our sinful actions were good, but that an all-powerful and loving God can sovereignly weave even our most shameful failures into a tapestry of ultimate good. This truth allows us to look back, not to erase or excuse our regrets, but to trust that even from them, God is working out a beautiful and purposeful design.
