Right kind of sorrow

Resolving Personal & Spiritual Conflicts
with
Pastor Mairos

2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation…but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Death cases resulting from suicide are increasing at an alarming rate. Firstly, the victims are overwhelmed with excessive sorrow over sad loss or wrongdoing. Then they decide to escape the pain of loss or shame of wrongdoing by killing themselves. Excessive sorrow is a killer. We must learn to share our deepest feelings of sorrow with a trusted friend, pastor or wise counsellor. Being open and honest with our emotions to others releases pressure of sorrow but suppressing our feelings of sorrow will always to lead to ill health and in some cases to physical death. Proper management of our emotions keeps us sane, sound, well and stable.
But is all sorrow bad? There is sorrow that is godly and sorrow that is worldly.
According to the opening scripture above the major characteristic of godly sorrow is that it leads one to repentance and salvation. Godly sorrow is the pain we feel in our hearts over loss or wrongdoing that leads us to a deeper longing for God’s comforting love and healing forgiveness.
For instance, one of the worst kinds of sorrow comes with the death of a loved one. We are allowed in the Scripture to mourn over the loss of a loved one. We are to weep with those who weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice. God knows that the pain of parting with a loved one must be let out of hearts through a good weeping. Weeping has a healing effect, but only if it is not hopeless. Weeping devoid of hope and trust in the goodness of God leads to ungodly sorrow.
If you lose your property to thieves or a marriage partner to another lover you can take some quality time to cry over that loss. But you should quickly recover knowing that God is still in control and will never leave you nor forsake you. He still has your best interests at heart and will work in all things for your good because you love Him and you are called according to His purpose.
When, after you have sinned and deeply feel guilty and sorrowful, you remember to confess your sin, repent and move on with your life, you are sorrowing after a godly sort. This sorrow that allows you to vent your pain without losing your bearings is the good one. It is godly because it is expressed and handled God’s way. It is redemptive and salvific if it ends with the “life goes on’ mentality.
On the other hand, worldly sorrow’s glaring feature is that it leads to death. Any sorrow over loss or wrongdoing that is incurable is a bad one. When you have aborted, stolen, seduced another’s spouse, or done any terrible mistake and you feel you do not deserve to live, then know that you are caught in the jaws of worldly, ungodly and bad sorrow. This excessive sorrow will lead you to hopeless despair, acute depression and alienation from God. And once you are spiritually dead, that is separated from God, you are at the mercy of the devil. Anything can happen to you at any time. Suicide is usually the end of the story.
If you feel right now that there is no way out of your predicament as result of loss or wrongdoing, make haste and seek help. Ungodly sorrow is pushing you towards death. You do not have to die for Christ, the man of sorrows, has borne the sting of sorrow for you.
Allow Him to turn your sorrow into joy today.
– For feed back call 0772889766 or email mairos78@yahoo.co.uk