Godly Sorrow

Javier knocked desperately on my door one afternoon. After coming to Christ, he had enjoyed a wonderful time of victory and transformation. He was a different person, and his habits were changing in ways that amazed even him

and made him deeply grateful to God and to the church that had welcomed him with such love, despite his somewhat complicated past.

When we sat down to talk, tears poured from his eyes:

“I thought I was a Christian and wouldn’t go back,” he told me, barely able to speak.

He felt miserable because he had fallen back into one of his old habits. His sorrow was immense.

“I’m not going back to church. I’m not worthy to be among you,” he added.

It was hard for me to help him contain his tears and despair. He could not understand how he had fallen back into behavior he had left behind for several months.

“I thought I was already a Christian,” he said again and again, “but I can’t deceive myself, much less all of you who have helped me so much.”

I began to explain that, although I was very sorry he had fallen, his deep sorrow was evidence that he really was a Christian now. And he began to glimpse a small ray of hope. He was deeply confused by having done something that had once been commonplace in his life but now caused him pain and shame. He thought his profession of faith was false and that, to be honest, he should give up trying to live a different life.

In my life as a pastor, I have often seen new believers think their conversion is not genuine when, after giving their lives to Christ, they fall into sin or behave improperly. The truth is that the immense sorrow they feel is the strongest evidence that they are Christians and that the Spirit of God is at work in them. That is precisely why they feel sad and dejected.

This is the godly sorrow the Bible speaks of: the immense sorrow we experience when we know we have done wrong and sinned against him. More than anything else, these people need the encouragement and help of their brothers and sisters in the faith so they can continue the process of spiritual growth they have begun. A fall need not mean the end if the sorrow it brings confirms that we now have a new way of thinking.

If you have fallen and feel immensely sad, confess your pain and confusion to the Lord with complete sincerity. His forgiveness will cover your sorrow, and you will be able to move forward.

God bless you all!