What We Regret, God Uses for Good

God Uses Our Regrets

Key Passage

So Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them to let them live.

Joshua 9:15

The Israelites had been warned not to make alliances with the peoples of the land. But in Joshua 9, they were tricked. The Gibeonites arrived in ragged clothes and moldy bread, claiming to be from a distant land. And Israel—without consulting the Lord—believed them. “So Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them to let them live” (Joshua 9:15).

No doubt regret set in like a shadow across their hearts. They had been deceived. They had acted in haste. They had not prayed.

But then came Joshua 10. The Gibeonites were attacked by five Amorite kings, and they called on Israel for help. Israel could have said, “Not our problem.” But they had made a covenant, and God honors covenant—even when born of poor judgment. So Israel marched all night and struck with force. “The Lord threw them into confusion… and the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky… more died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites” (Joshua 10:10-11).

And in a miracle of cosmic intervention, Joshua prayed, and the sun stood still (Joshua 10:13).

Here’s the breathtaking irony: the very alliance Israel regretted became the gateway to victory. Instead of facing these five kings one by one in exhausting campaigns, they defeated them all in one moment, because of that alliance. What they did in foolishness, God turned to wisdom. What they feared would hinder them, God used to accelerate their journey into the Promised Land (Romans 8:28).

Isn’t this like the results of the gospel? We bring our mess—our sin, our shame, our foolish choices—and God weaves redemption through it all. Like Peter, who denied Christ yet later preached with power (Luke 22:61–62; Acts 2:14). Like Joseph’s brothers, who sold him into slavery, only to be saved by the one they betrayed (Genesis 50:20). Like Paul, who persecuted the church, but became its greatest apostle (1 Timothy 1:13–15).

Our lives are littered with Gibeonite moments—decisions made without prayer, choices born of fear or pride. But Christ came not only to forgive our sins but to redeem our regrets. On the cross, He bore the full weight of our poor decisions and turned them into a path to victory (Colossians 2:14-15).

He is the God who makes the sun stand still, just long enough to turn your greatest regret into a stepping stone toward your promised land.