What Godly Grief Produces

Day 247: 2 Corinthians 7:8-16

“As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” - 2 Corinthians 7:9-10

R.C. Lenski, writing about this verse, said, "A surgeon may cause severe pain; he rejoices when he sees the cure that this pain has produced. It is not the pain as such but the pain as being productive of the cure that rejoices him."

Many of our prayers for others and for ourselves seem to default in a certain way. We are praying for a way around pain. "God, please keep them safe." Now, there is nothing wrong with this kind of prayer, but it is not usually the most useful kind of prayer.

Most times, what we need is not to sidestep the pain, the sorrow, but to walk right through it. Pain is productive if we will allow it to do what it does best. It shakes us out of our complacency, especially when it comes to unrecognized sin.

Most of us fall into one of two camps on this. We either could care less if we offend someone, or we care too much if we offend someone. Both of these extremes are toxic. I pray that compassion and care accompany our attempts at correction. We won’t always get it right, but we can improve with each passing year God allows us to live.

And when the time comes for us to personally experience sorrow that leads to repentance, may God lead us further into salvation without regret.