Pinpoint Your Repentance

2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death.” ~CSB

I punished my teenage son one day by taking away his cell phone. He was upset because I interrupted communication access between him and his girlfriend.  He began to say how sorry he was and that he would not do it again. Eventually I gave him his phone back but the same disobedience continued.  Time went by, we talked and he admitted that he was only sorry because he had lost his phone privileges.  He wasn’t getting the bigger picture of the punishment that would eventually make him a better man.

The world had taught him to have ‘its’ remorse. And because of that, his spiritual lessons could not be learned. Do we do that? In life when we know we may be going through something because of a bad choice we made, we begin to feel sorry. But where is our remorse guided? Is it worldly remorse we are feeling or godly remorse? 

Tony Evans paints a beautiful picture in his commentary about this. He writes, “Judas experiences ‘worldly grief’ after he betrayed Jesus. He knew he had sinned and was filled with remorse, but was unwilling to repent, (Matthew 27:3-5). On the other hand, Peter experienced ‘godly grief’ after denying Christ. This led to his repentance and recommitment to the Lord, resulting in his spiritual restoration. (Matthew 26:75; John 21:15-19).

Now, I know the story about my son may seem minor, but ‘worldly remorse’ starts somewhere. My son was only focused on what he had lost, something he desired but did not have anymore. What he should have been focusing on was the big picture of doing better. As we live and breathe we need to take heed in the times God puts us on ‘pause’. In this pause let us not focus on what we lost or are not gaining. Yet let us focus on the ‘big picture’.  

Let us step away from the ‘worldly remorse’ and embrace the ‘godly grief’ that leads to ‘repentance’. Step away from grief that leads us away from God, but embrace that pain that pulls us to Him! It is in this ‘repentance’ we will find the peace, guidance and healing that will open our eyes to what it truly is God is giving us! Genuinely be remorseful to the Lord and declare His will over your life and watch the power of God move in the spiritual world He so graciously provided for you.

Amen

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