July 3 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

2 Corinthians 7:8–10

Devotional

Godly sorrow is sorrow because of sin. It is not to be confused with fear because of sin. Fear because of sin can be very severe. The thought of the punishment of hell because of sin can be a relentless terror. People can have such great fear of death that they are at their wits’ end. Still all these fears can subside, and when these emotions are passed they easily fall back into a worldly life.

Fear is something different from sorrow. Sorrow is deeper, for it contains sadness, pain, and grief because of sin. It is motivated by love for God. Love suffers grief. Think of the publican standing at the back of the temple and smiting himself upon his breast, saying: “O God, be merciful to me the sinner.” That is godly sorrow.

Do you know this in your own life? It is not just being afraid that you will perish. It is a sorrow because you have sinned against a holy God. In this godly sorrow there may not even be physical tears, but there are tears of your soul. The cause of these tears is that you are outside of God’s favor, and that thought causes sorrow.

Only the Lord Himself can dry tears of the soul. Do you have a need for God in your life? Have you come to realize that by nature you are without God? To know true gladness, you must know something of this sorrow. You will never rejoice in God if you have never sorrowed for God.

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.