Day 2412 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.
2 Corinthians 7:10 NIV
Lately I’ve felt this heaviness in life. It’s like this weight on my shoulders of things that I need to be doing better, doing differently, or simply not doing at all. It’s almost this sense of distress in knowing that if I don’t make a few changes and get rid of some things then I will only miss out on experiencing even more of who God made me to be and what it is that He’s calling me to do. I know that I can do better. I know that I want to do better. I know without a doubt that there are things in my life that aren’t helping me do so. And I think that’s maybe some of that Godly sorrow that this verse is talking about.
I don’t know about you, but personally I haven’t found a way to turn off that tiny voice that speaks up every time I do something wrong. It sure seems like many around us have, but I still hear it. A lot! And I’m thankful for it. You see, I know that I’m about as far from perfect as anyone has ever been. But rather than live in some sort of delusion where I stay comfortable where I am right now, I’m excited at the chance to improve. I’m stoked that God is still working in my life because He knows better than anyone just how much work I need.
That same truth applies to each of us. We make mistakes. We choose the wrong choices and follow the wrong paths. We do things without thinking them through or considering the repercussions. We all have plenty of room to be better people, but it all boils down to whether or not we want to put in the work to get there. We’re all going to feel that distress that tells us that something is off. We can either look around us for other people or things to blame it on, or we can look internally and seek out what we could be doing better.
Sadly, it’s basically human nature to go with the first option. We are really good at victimizing ourselves. We blame our circumstance for making it too hard to change. We blame other people for doing or saying things that hurt us. We blame the world for being broken. We blame society for leading us in the wrong direction. We blame all sorts of different things for holding us back or making our lives what they are, but maybe we’re the problem. Maybe it’s about our choice to consume the things that we allow into our lives. Maybe it’s our fault for following the crowd and not evaluating where it’s headed.
Maybe if we could stop thinking that we’re the victims of life and realize that we’re the ones making the choices then we could understand that better choices would bring better results. We can either feel sorry for ourselves or we can work to improve ourselves. We can look around us for things that we can blame our unhappiness on or we can look inside and see what’s pulling us down. We can keep passing the buck and trying to avoid the changes that we truly need to make or we can own the mistakes and choices that put us in this place of misery and disappointment and start working to climb out of it.
Godly sorrow helps us see that something in our lives is off and pushes us to work on it. He will never settle for leaving us where we are or afford us the easier path of accepting excuses in place of repentance. As we discussed yesterday, we all have plenty of room to grow and improve. It simply comes down to whether or not we really want to do so. We don’t have to. He won’t force us to seek out the areas that we can improve or change. But that option is on the table for anyone who is willing to consider the possibility that maybe we need a little help.
If we listen to God and allow Him to stir up this fire inside that ignites a desire to fight for something better then that’s exactly where He will lead us. To something better. To a place of peace, joy, and freedom from shame and regret. We can choose to stay where we are and wallow in self-pity and blame other things when we feel that shame well up inside. Or we can pick ourselves up, look for things to do differently, and get to work. Just remember that feeling sorry for ourselves but never working to do something about it will never get us anywhere. But humility and a willingness to change will open the door to something truly incredible – the chance to be who God made us to be!
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