ISIAH 48: 17,18,&20…..” I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths that you should follow. Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves of the sea. Yet even now, be free from your captivity!” 

   God wants us to have the best life that we can possibly have. He wants us to have peace and joy and to enjoy every moment of our lives. And He wants to guide us in the ways that we should go in order to have that peace and joy. But if you are anything like me you get stubborn and demand to go your own way at times and then wish that you would have listened to Him. And after doing that several times you may become condemned and think that He has given up on you. 

   Isiah 48:20 says that, “yet even now, be free from your captivity.” So God is saying that even though we made our own mess, He still wants to set us free! He wants us to be free of condemnation, guilt, regret, and shame. He still wants us to have peace and joy even though we decided  not to listen to Him and let Him guide us. He wants us to be free from the captivity that we have but ourselves in.

   You may have had many “I wish I would have” or “ I should not have done” times throughout your life and it is okay. What is important to God is that you decide that you want the peace and joy that is available to you bad enough that you make the decision to follow His lead. No matter the choices that we have made, God is willing to let it go and lead you onto the path that is best for you.

What are somethings that you felt God leading you to do or not do but you chose to do something else? Did you learn a lesson from it? DO you hold onto guilt or regret because of your choice? Will you be willing to let it go and let God lead you onto better things?