Godly Grief

Godly Grief

“For I am afflicted and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.” Psalm 109:22

Grief is a word that we normally associate with the loss of a loved one. But there are different levels of grief that we experience in our lives. One that we need to take a look at is godly grief. Devotional writer, Glynn Evans, gives us some practical insight into understanding the value of godly grief in our lives:

I will never know God well until I learn His “grief.” I read, “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him [Christ]; he hath put Him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10). But the grief that Jesus suffered was My grief, a grief that came His way because of MY sin. Grief always touches me at the point of sin, either mine or someone else’s. That is why Paul could suffer great grief over the lost members of his own Jewish race (Romans 9:1-3).

When I am convicted of sin, I feel the grief of sin, which is really the grief of God over sin. The heaviness in my heart is simply the overflow of my sorrow of God concerning my sin. The moment I confess that sin, God is no longer sorrowful, and therefore I am no longer in grief.

Christ is constantly probing us to find a nerve that in us that is sensitive to sin. He said to Peter, “Lovest thou Me?” and Peter was grieved because Christ had reached the very center of his soreness (John 21:17). He is no disciple who had not felt the probing finger of Jesus Christ on his heart. That is the “godly grief” that Paul mentions as being good for us (2 Corinthians 7:7). How much better to be grieved by God than to be grieved by the world.

The life of discipleship itself is a life of grief. How can God deal with me without correcting me, and how can He correct me without hurt? No discipline is pleasant; it is “grievous … but it yields to the joy of mature, dependable discipleship” (Hebrews 12:11). My grief is therefore my joy and I should shout “Hallelujah!” because God is producing a better me.

At all costs I must avoid the grief of the world, a bitter sorrow without promise of a brighter tomorrow. How sweet is the Lord’s grief when accepted, and how eternal the consequences! My hope is in Him, “who wounds, but He binds up, He smites but His hand brings healing (Job 5:18, Berkley).

Brothers, is there an area in your life right now where you need to experience “godly grief?” If so, talk to Him about it right now. Don’t delay. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 10; Hosea 1-4; Revelation 1

Dig This Quote: Many do not recognize the fact as they ought, that Satan has got men fast asleep in sin and that it is his great device to keep them so. He does not care what we do if he can do that. We may sing songs about the sweet by and by, preach sermons and say prayers until doomsday, and he will never concern himself about us, if we don't wake anybody up. But if we awake the sleeping sinner he will gnash on us with his teeth. This is our work - to wake people up. Catherine Booth

Determined Digging: Level 1: John 15:5; Level 2: Matthew 6:30-34

Determined Praying: There are no depths from which the prayer of faith cannot reach heaven. John Blanchard