2021-03-19
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Today, I’m commanded to look at worldly vs. Godly sadness. The sadness spoken of here is on the part of the Holy Spirit. Just as with God’s other personalities, the Holy Spirit is made sad by human sinfulness. That worldly sadness is brought on by unconfessed sin; if sadness is used by God to bring about a change of heart and leads to salvation, it is Godly sadness and has no negative consequences. When Paul and his helpers arrived in Macedonia, they were working day and night with no rest. God saw this and sent Titus there to make their burden lighter. Paul expressed his joy and spoke of our subject at hand, in 2 COR 7: 9-10. “But now I am happy—not because I made you sad, but because your sadness made you change your ways. That sadness was used by God, and so we caused you no harm. For the sadness that is used by God brings a change of heart that leads to salvation, and there is no regret in that! But sadness that is merely human causes death.”
Godly sorrow brings repentance, which leads to salvation without regret. A while back, I wrote about a woman who had wronged me with disrespectful words and behavior toward me. It took me by surprise and made me unhappy. I didn’t reply in kind, but the whole incident left me feeling sadness. I kept asking myself if there was any truth in her unkind words. A period of time went by, a matter of months. Then, I received a note from her that she wanted to talk with me privately. I answered in the affirmative and arranged a time and place. She came to me with apologies and asked me several questions that revealed that she had misinterpreted something I had said. I explained what I had meant, and we got into a conversation about the state of her faith in the Lord. Later, I got news that she had committed to faith in the Lord and was baptized. I don’t think my actions were the sole cause of her decision, but my sadness was surely lifted by what happened.
There are times when people cause the sadness of others by their ideas and actions. People holding public office do this when they hold to conspiracy theories and take action like the attempted insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Refusing to admit to the reality of our last election’s outcome led to holding a grudge against those who won it and our country’s democracy . This behavior led to the arrest of a large number of participants. The sadness our country feels is worldly sadness and is accompanied by regrets. Violent and destructive behavior does nothing to help lift one’s spiritual life and leads to spiritual death. While it is God (and surely not me) Who decides the eventual fate-outcome of these participants, we must understand the serious black mark their thinking and behavior has placed on their lives. These examples serve to highlight the principle that flesh and Spirit are opposites [GA 5: 16-17]. We must understand that Christ has set us free from slavery to sin. We must not let ourselves become slaves again. From GA 5: 1-4, it is clear that as Paul and his helpers were travelling through Galacia, that uncommitted people were being encouraged to have their males circumcised and join the traditionally Jewish fold. But that was denying them God’s grace, which comes with faith in Christ. Paul spoke of this problem, so that those who heard him would think twice before taking that action. Traditionally Jewish people were hampered from grace by the lock-step Jewish way of approaching the Law. These people were denied repentance and salvation. My own experience in being raised in Conservative Judaism and later converting to Messianic Judaism (which includes belief in Jesus Christ) is enough to convince me of the worldly sadness I had in my youthful life. I had been surrounded by people in my own acquaintances who were not humble and who were given to holding grudges when angry. My own father wouldn’t have anything to do with his cousin, and the two had spent part of their childhoods together. This grudge went on for 30 years, and when they finally did mend fences, neither of them could remember what had started off his anger in the first place.
PRAYER: O Most Heavenly Father, You have given us yet another measuring criterion to examine the state of our faith, in worldly vs. Godly sadness. We stand before Your mighty throne in awe and respect of Your wisdom. To You, what matters are those things which lead to us gaining eternal life. While still on earth, You ask us to change our thinking from earthly only to eternal terms. This learned behavior isn’t easy or natural to us, but it is important. We ask for Your help through the Holy Spirit in making thinking in eternal terms our goal and accomplishment. We offer ourselves to Your service in Jesus Christ, because we know that obedient faith in Him is the only way to eternal life. You love us so much that You listen to every prayer we sent up to You, and You placed the Holy Spirit in our lives. He is Your Spirit and lets us know Your will; He also is our teacher, Who imparts Your wisdom. Do not let us forget to turn to Him first when we reach a crossing in life’s road. Teach us to be better listeners, so that we can carry out Your work effectively and in accordance with those wishes. We ask this prayer in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: All these devotions so far, in this “The Spirit Speaks” series are leading up to a thorough analysis of each of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. They’re intended to be the foundation and walls of a house under construction. So, continue being patient as Spirit vs. flesh is discussed in next week’s devotion. My writing here is called “devotions” rather than “essays” for a reason. I have a strong desire to serve God in a way that He finds pleasing—to show the love and devotion I have for Him. My task is to carry out a ministry that is dedicated to building faith, conveying the Gospel accurately, and to reflect my love for God and other people. In the process of writing devotions every week, serving God by teaching and using my knitting and crochet skill for the benefit of others, I can feel God growing my own spiritual maturity. He takes me to a new adventure around every corner, to do things I never know I could do. In addition, the Lord has forged remarkable friendships along the way that uplift and edify me. I’m grateful for all these blessings and for the chance to get to know my friends. After what can only be described as a painful and unhappy childhood and first marriage, the Lord brought my present husband into my life. Peter Johnson is my other half, who is happy to support my ministry in the form of wonderful help around the house, keeping our books, and with running errands for us. God has further blessed us with access to vaccinations against Covid 19, which is in progress as I write. Our God deserves our loyalty, faith, obedience, willingness to watch Him at work, and willingness to acknowledge the blessings He brings to us. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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