The world is full of sorrow: painful situatins which break our hearts and leave us bewildered, confused and in so much emotional pain that we feel we cannot carry on. At times we wrestle with God’s ways: why He allows such pain, why He does not intervene to prevent such tragedies and why, if He loves us so much, we have to ensure such suffering.
Distress and sorrow, trouble and persecution, are inevitable companions to a life ravaged by sin. We cannot avoid them; we cannot understand them. But ‘godly sorrow’ (see 2 Cor 7:9-11) has positive outcomes.
Godly sorrow is when we allow the distress and pain to drive us towards God, rather than away from HIm. We come with our questions, our tears, our rage and our confusion, and we sit in the silence until God’s presence is enough to sustain us. When we allow distresss and sorrow to drive us to God rather than away from him, we find we become ‘more alive, more concerned, more human, more sensitive, more reverent, more passionate, more responsible.’ (2 Cor 7:11, The Message)
If we allow distress to drive us away from God, the questions are still unanswered and we are left only with regret. We become corroded and bitter, restless and discontented. Wordly sorrow ultimately leads to death. (2 Cor 7:10)
Our response to life is the only thing we can control. We can’t control the troubles and sorrows, but we can control and choose our response. Choose to let the sorrow drive you to God. Though we may have to wait for the answer (Hab 2:3), though we may never understand His ways, His presence means we are not left comfortless (2 Cor 1:3-4, Jn 14:16-18)
