September 21, 2020

Today’s Reading

2 Corinthians 7:10 KJV
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

It is without question that sorrowful and sad days will one day come knocking on your door, if it has not already. The only question is will you have godly or worldly sorrow? Grief is the emotion of sorrow. It is a deep sadness. Many Christians think that it is not “Christian” to be sad, but that’s not true. There is a “godly sorrow that leads to salvation.” This kind of sorrow is when the soul starts to realize how sinful it is. When your soul sees how far it has wandered from God and is saddened, that is Godly sorrow. Godly sorrow is good, because it leads us to acknowledge our need for God, which ultimately leads to salvation. Grieving about not following God well means you want to follow Him better, which is a sign that your heart is in the right place. Whenever I treat my wife or my kids wrongly, I am grieved afterwards, because it hurts our relationship. I am grieved, because I have hurt the very people I was meant to love. You and I were made to love God, and grieving after disobeying Him is a sign that your heart loves God. You grieve when you hurt what you love most. Nobody grieves about something they don’t care about. Now, if you are more upset about losing the things you possess in this world, than you are over your sin then you may find yourself disconnected from God. Some people get more upset about their favorite team losing a ballgame than they do about sin, and that is a sad state for one to be in. All of your affections (grief and sorrow included) must be directed toward God and His purpose for your life, not your own. What do you grieve about most? Is it when things don’t go the way you want them to? Or is it when you don’t go the way God wanted you to go? Search your soul deeply in this matter, for what you grieve about most shows what you love most.

Frank Newsome