Godly Sorrow

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

Sorrow is defined as deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune suffered by oneself or others.  There is deep sorrow over the death of someone very close to us, such as a parent or a spouse. There is sorrow over any condition or event that causes us difficulty. And there is the sorrow of the loss of any material gain we felt was essential to us. All these kinds of sorrow may bring anguish and heartbreak. All these sorrows bring us death. It’s known scientifically that prolonged and deep sorrow leads to mental and physical illnesses.

But there is also godly sorrow. And in our Scripture, Paul says that godly sorrow accomplishes and performs repentance that leads to salvation, a firm, solid and unyielding salvation. One that cannot be dissuaded or changed for anything. Sometimes the tears that people shed at the altar are not shed in godly sorrow. Yes, they are sorry, but they may be crying for the loss of their old life. Only the Lord knows. So, what is godly sorrow?

Godly sorrow is deep grief over our sin that has offended God, not grief over any man, not my opportunities and not my losses. The Lord is the object of grief. James tells us the steps to take. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.” (James 4:7-10)

Godly sorrow begins with surrender, submit to God. Surrender all you are, all you have, the past and the future. Resist the devil. In other words repent and turn from sin, leave it at the feet of Jesus making a decision never to go back to it. “Cleanse your hands...purify your hearts...,” purging and removing yourself from past actions, words, intentions of your hearts and dedicating and setting apart only for the Lord, your actions, words and intentions of the heart. Allow yourself to be in sorrow and to mourn the fact that your sins offended God, “be afflicted, mourn, and weep...” And humble yourself.  Do whatever the Lord asks you to do.  It may be to leave a place, to leave a group or a person, to apologize or to make amends. It may be difficult.  It may be embarrassing. It may be humbling. But it is obedience. It is proof of your heart desire for the Lord. I must interject a little note. God will never tell a person to divorce a non-believer just because they now belong to Him. That would be contrary to His Word. And God never contradicts His Word.

Jesus gave us an example of how to humble ourselves before God in the very brief parable of the two men praying. “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank Thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you; this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14) When we come to the Lord, it should be all about the Lord, not ourselves. In God’s world there is no ifs, ands or buts. There are no excuses, no rationale or reason for our sin except that we willfully offended God. And we should grieve for offending Him, and not for the consequences which we deserve.

Godly sorrow, unlike any other kind of sorrow, leads to life and not death. When we “die” to ourselves, we receive eternal and everlasting life. “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:39) We allow “our” life to end, all our dreams and hopes that we had and give them over to the Lord, never to take it back and live with what the Lord gives us. And it is in His covenant bought with His blood, peace, love, joy and life. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)