Matthew 26:75
And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Remembering ought to be filled with good thoughts and not thoughts of regret. However, many of us have found ourselves remembering how we could have done better or things we wish we had never done. Throughout the Scriptures, God often tells the believer to remember. We could make our times of remembering good times if we lived our lives cherishing every moment as we serve God. Let me give several instances of remembrance that are both bad and good and what you can do to keep good thoughts to remember.
First, we will remember words of caution. When Peter remembered the words of Jesus, he remembered how Christ cautioned him to watch and pray because he was about to face a time of temptation that would cause him a moment of compromise. Many times people remember a preacher's cautions and warnings after choosing not to heed them. Nobody likes to be told, “I told you so,” but though the person who cautioned you did not say these words, your conscience tells you these words as you remember the cautions and warnings God sent your way.
Second, we will remember the times we took for granted. We have often been warned to soak in every moment of God’s blessings in your church or the blessing of having a great man of God. We have often been warned that these blessings will not always be there, and the man of God whom God is blessing and we happen to be a part of his ministry will one day leave. Sadly, many have not taken these times seriously and when remembering them, they wished to have them back one more time. The disciples had this time when they talked with Jesus, but when He was gone is when they said, Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way.
Third, we will remember the opportunities we passed up that we should have taken. We will remember when we let the world and selfish agendas take the place of opportunities to do something for God. Many have looked back and wished they would not have pushed those opportunities aside for selfish gain or pleasure.
Fourth, we will remember when we did not give our best. Many people have looked back and wished they had given more effort when they see the effort they gave was their whole effort. So many times we give a half-hearted effort only to regret it when we realize God could have done so much more had we given our whole effort.
Fifth, we will remember the time wasted. Oh, the regret of time wasted! Many have looked back on life and wished they would not have wasted time on things that did not really matter. Many will remember the time they wasted on living a life of ease that could have been given to do more for Christ. Time wasted is one of the worst memories because we know that time could have been used to make a greater impact for Christ with our lives.
These are just five times our memory tells us, I told you so. The best way to keep from living a life of, I told you so, is to give your best and your all for Christ with everything you do and every moment you live. If you give your best and your all, you will never regret that you should have given more.