A Place Called Heaven DevotionalSample

Live Without Regrets 

To prepare for your journey to heaven, you must minimize your predeparture regrets.  God wants us to live in such a way that when He calls us to heaven, we are not filled with predeparture regrets. If you come to the end of your life ready to enter into heaven, and realize there are many things you left undone, that will be a whole different story.

As a pastor, I have had the experience many times of sitting with Christians who were about to die and listening to them lament their regrets in life—relationships they wished they had maximized, relationships they wished they had not broken, opportunities they should have taken advantage of. Nothing will steal your joy faster or devour your days more completely than regrets.

I am reminded of the words of the poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who wrote, “For all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been.’” Regrets are like a cancer. They eat at the very core of our being, and that is certainly no way to spend our final days here on earth.

When I think about some of the most common regrets of those who are dying, I think about my own dad. My father was a successful man by any standard. He was a faithful follower of Christ. He led my mom to faith in Christ, and he led his children to become Christians as well. My father held an important position in the airline industry, enjoyed an upper-middle-class income, traveled the world, was respected by colleagues and friends, and was deeply loved by his family.

Yet when my father was sixty-six years of age, the doctors informed him that he had pancreatic cancer and had only four months to live. During those months preceding his death, I spent a lot of time with my father, sitting with him and listening to him lament the “what ifs” and “if onlys” of his life. 

My dad’s final months on this earth were not altogether happy ones. Through his experience, I learned that regrets have the power to extinguish the joy of an otherwise happy life. In what ways will you come to the end of your life ready to enter into heaven with no regrets?

What are some common regrets that people experience? What step can you take today to avoid experiencing that regret when death comes? 

Prayer: Lord, give me the courage to seize opportunities, mend relationships, and build a life that is pleasing to You.