I heard an interview with actor Tony Danza in which he talked about regretting a tattoo he got back in 1969, during his first year of college.
Some of you might remember the famous “Keep on Truckin’” cartoon, the one with long-legged men taking enormous strides, their oversized feet leading the way.
The cartoon and the expression were very popular in the 1970s, but it wasn’t long before Tony Danza came to regret having the image inked on his arm.
I’m sure we can all think of things we’ve said or done that seemed like good ideas at the time, only to regret them later.
For Tony Danza, the solution was to have the tattoo removed. That’s great for him, but what do we do with our regrets when there’s no easy fix? Words can’t be unsaid, and actions can’t simply be erased like a tattoo.
Over the last few years, Romans 8:28 has taken on a deeper meaning for me.
We know that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. And you, like me, have likely found comfort in that verse when circumstances outside our control interrupt our lives, bringing confusion and sadness.
But what about those occasions when we’re directly responsible for a situation that brings distress into our lives and the lives of others? Will God work even those circumstances together for our good?
Amazingly, the answer is yes.
How can I be so confident? Because God never lies. He promises that He causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him. Not just the circumstances beyond our control, but even those resulting from our own poor decisions.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences, or that we don’t need to acknowledge our wrongdoing. Nor does it mean everything will turn out the way we’d like. God’s ultimate purpose is to make us more like Jesus (Romans 8:29), and sometimes that involves painful lessons.
But even our failures can’t thwart His purposes.
Take heart, friends. When we get off course and wonder how in the world things will ever work out, imagine the voice of your GPS saying, “Recalculating.”
Of course, God never needs to recalculate. He already knows the road ahead, including every wrong turn we’ll take.
Our missteps may change the course of our lives, but they can never derail God’s purposes. Even our deepest regrets are not beyond His redeeming grace.
