9Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 10For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
I came across this in my daily Bible reading today, and it reminded me of another event in the Bible and another book I had recently read.
Charles Swindoll wrote in Hand Me Another Brick that "at times, guilt is an excellent motivational factor. Not all guilt is wrong. Guilt is often what God uses to bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ." You see, Ezra and Nehemiah were right in the middle of the revival and dealing with a group of people who were weeping because they knew that they were guilty. They were thinking about the sins of their forefathers that had led them into captivity. They were thinking of all of the years they had lived without being concerned about spiritual matters. They were weeping because they wanted to change, but they may have felt that God wasn't there to receive them back. Ezra and Nehemiah used their words to move the people from guilt to repentance to joy. They encouraged the people that God was still right there waiting to receive a repentant group.
The spiritual leaders told the people that it wasn't a day for weeping. They should go and celebrate before the Lord. There should be joy because God's Word was heard and understood. There should be a sense of victory because the joy of the Lord was their strength. These words were guiding the people out of the guilt feelings into repentance and ultimately into relying on God to have the strength to do the things they now knew they needed to be doing.
I feel like there is a similar situation in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. Paul had to write a very difficult letter to the church at Corinth because they didn't take care of a serious issue. Although he was sorry for how much pain it had caused them, he wasn't sorry for sending the letter. He knew it had to be done and that it was for their good. The church at Corinth also learned how to move from pain, to remorse, to a change in ways. That's the kind of sorrow we don't have to regret. That's how God wants to use sorrow in our lives.
On the other hand there is a guilt or sorrow that is not helpful. It's the kind that does not lead us to repentance. Paul says that is the kind of sorrow that leads to death. I think this kind of sorrow is like being sorry that we got caught or some other effect. We're not really sorry about the action itself--not sorry enough to quit. Since this kind of sorrow doesn't result in change, it also doesn't result in joy. See the one who repents of sin is the one who gets to live in the joy of the strength of the Lord. The one who holds on to sorrow (the wrong kind of sorrow) is the one who has the black cloud over their head everyday.
So when you go through a time of pain, don't let it stop there. If it stops there, it's not leading you to where God wants you to go. He wants you to change, and He wants to do it for you. But you have to be willing to let Him do it.
Sorrow--it does a Christian good when it's followed by repentance and then joy.
Charles Swindoll wrote in Hand Me Another Brick that "at times, guilt is an excellent motivational factor. Not all guilt is wrong. Guilt is often what God uses to bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ." You see, Ezra and Nehemiah were right in the middle of the revival and dealing with a group of people who were weeping because they knew that they were guilty. They were thinking about the sins of their forefathers that had led them into captivity. They were thinking of all of the years they had lived without being concerned about spiritual matters. They were weeping because they wanted to change, but they may have felt that God wasn't there to receive them back. Ezra and Nehemiah used their words to move the people from guilt to repentance to joy. They encouraged the people that God was still right there waiting to receive a repentant group.
The spiritual leaders told the people that it wasn't a day for weeping. They should go and celebrate before the Lord. There should be joy because God's Word was heard and understood. There should be a sense of victory because the joy of the Lord was their strength. These words were guiding the people out of the guilt feelings into repentance and ultimately into relying on God to have the strength to do the things they now knew they needed to be doing.
I feel like there is a similar situation in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. Paul had to write a very difficult letter to the church at Corinth because they didn't take care of a serious issue. Although he was sorry for how much pain it had caused them, he wasn't sorry for sending the letter. He knew it had to be done and that it was for their good. The church at Corinth also learned how to move from pain, to remorse, to a change in ways. That's the kind of sorrow we don't have to regret. That's how God wants to use sorrow in our lives.
On the other hand there is a guilt or sorrow that is not helpful. It's the kind that does not lead us to repentance. Paul says that is the kind of sorrow that leads to death. I think this kind of sorrow is like being sorry that we got caught or some other effect. We're not really sorry about the action itself--not sorry enough to quit. Since this kind of sorrow doesn't result in change, it also doesn't result in joy. See the one who repents of sin is the one who gets to live in the joy of the strength of the Lord. The one who holds on to sorrow (the wrong kind of sorrow) is the one who has the black cloud over their head everyday.
So when you go through a time of pain, don't let it stop there. If it stops there, it's not leading you to where God wants you to go. He wants you to change, and He wants to do it for you. But you have to be willing to let Him do it.
Sorrow--it does a Christian good when it's followed by repentance and then joy.
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