2 corinthians 7:9-11- (godly) sorrow

2 Corinthians 7:9-11 "Now 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. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter."

Sorrow is a hard thing. It's a true thing. You know it when you feel it. You feel it deeply. It consumes. It has gravity, weighing on your shoulders and wadding up your stomach. 

In church, sometimes we act like sorrow is a bad thing, that it's dishonoring to God because He has given us so much; grace and love and eternal life after death. 

We act as though things like sorrow or pain or grief are separate from God, but just as love and peace and salvation are of God, so is sorrow. 

Sorrow can be holy. 

Jesus was sorrowful about his coming death. He prayed against it, asking God to take the cup from him. But God had a greater good coming from Christ's situation. 

Godly sorrow worketh repentance...

In situations of sorrow, whether someone's death or a break up,  the loss of a friend, a frightening diagnosis- sorrow is often associated with emptiness, as we experience sorrow in times when we feel like everything has been taken from us and we have nothing left. God uses these feelings to bring us back to Him, and to reveal his character.

There is a difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. 

Last August I gave myself over to worldly sorrow-a deep, black sorrow that held me captive. For months I routinely cried myself to sleep, found myself incapable of getting out of bed in the morning, and losing weight at a rapid rate. It took me eight months to overcome this sorrow. 

In November, I found myself experiencing deep sorrow again, over the death of a friend and over the loss of a cherished relationship. Though the first days after these losses were much the same as those eight months had been- crying, not eating, not sleeping, loss of ambition- the difference was that I turned to God first and fully. I  read my Bible first thing in the morning to give me the motivation to get back out of bed and I read it at night, sometimes for hours, to quiet the anxieties that crept in at end of day. For the last forty something days I have fallen asleep in the middle of prayer. 

I have never been so acquainted with the character of my God, so aware of the support of my brothers and sisters in Christ, or so desperate to understand God's Will and Ways. 

For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire,  

Worldly sorrow requires you to entrench yourself in yourself. To cling to your sorrow because it is all you have left. 

Godly sorrow requires you to entrench yourself in God. To cling to Him because HE is all you have left. 

Sorrow will reveal a lot about yourself. It breaks you down into pieces, and exposes your weak spots- it shows you all the places you need God (i.e everywhere) and all the places He has already worked and is working on now. 

We can rejoice in sorrow because He is crafting something greater than we could ever imagine.