What is your biggest regret in life? Is it something you did, a mistake you made? Or is it an opportunity missed? Regrets often haunt us, but they need not define us. We are not surprised to hear people speak about their regrets. But what about God? Did you know God had regrets?
Why did God create the world and people in the first place? Remember the Spirit hovered over the face of the waters. The earth was unformed and unfilled. Then in six consecutive days, God formed the cosmos and filled it with life. The living God did not keep life to himself. He breathed his own life into the humans he formed from dust. God desired fellowship with beings created in his image.
The fall changed everything, though. So far, in Genesis, things were not going well at all. How bad was it? “Every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” Humans were so bad that God regretted making them at all. Our holy God must judge sin. He decided to destroy humankind and all the creatures he had made. God was fed up with the set up.
Even on the darkest day, there may be a sudden ray of light. Just when all hope seemed to be gone, Noah found favor in God’s sight. As much as God regretted making humans, he offered favor to one man and his family. This is a great example of grace in the Old Testament. God showed unmerited favor to Noah.
A friend of mine once said, “God does not regret saving you.” God regretted making human beings, but he was always looking for a way to redeem them. Noah’s story is a redemption story. We are reminded that even when we are at our worst, God is still at his best. Even if the broken world gives up on God, he has not given up on having fellowship with those whom he favors. The good news is, we, like Noah, have found favor in the eyes of the Lord. As Paul would later put it, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus, the holy Son of God bore the judgment of God in our place. Good news: the gracious God who redeems us from our sin, can also save us from a life of regrets. Today is a new day!
