The Kind of Sorrow God Wants You to Experience

Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

2 Corinthians 7:10

There are two kinds of grief (or sorrow). Worldly sorrow brings death. You can be full of regret and never change; you can be sorry without repenting. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. Godly sorrow leads to real and lasting change.

Godly sorrow is the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience. Let’s see how these two sorrows work out in the lives of David and Saul.

After Saul is confronted about his disobedience to God, he offers some lame excuses, but then finally admits, “I have sinned; yet honour me now before the elders of my people and before Israel” (1 Sam. 15:30). Saul is sorry about what happened, but he wants to put all the unpleasantness behind him so he can still look good. That’s worldly sorrow—no ownership of his actions. Follow the story and you’ll see that Saul never really changed.

But David, after being confronted with his disobedience to God, says, “Have mercy on me, O God… For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Psa. 51:1, 3). This man is facing his sin—no hiding. He doesn’t minimise it or cast blame on others—no excuses. This sorrow is painful, but it brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret!

You don’t want to be a person who falls over the same stumbling block again and again. Say to God, Don’t let me stumble without seeing what needs to change in my life. I see that in Saul. Don’t let me be like that. Let your Word be a lamp for my feet and a light to my path.

Do you feel like you are stumbling over the same sins again and again?