“Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord. There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.” (Psalms 4). Sorrow definitely has a negative connotation for most of us. We don’t particularly like to feel sorrow. In fact, we often do everything in our power to avoid it. In this regard, we don’t make a distinction between Godly sorrow and sorrow of a more mundane character. We feel that Godly sorrow may be an unpleasant medicine that we must swallow, but the fact that it is good for us in the long run does not make it any less bitter when we have to partake of it. But Godly sorrow is not negative. It doesn’t even need to be painful. In fact, Godly sorrow is indistinguishable from the grace and power of Christ’s atonement. Godly sorrow is what enlarges us when we are in distress. It is the light of Christ’s countenance that lifts us up from the darkness of sin. It shows us the good - both the good in ourselves and the good in the world around us. When we are in awe of the magnitude and the extent and height and depth of our Savior’s love for us, Godly sorrow is what moves us to repent and sin no more. It is the peace that allows us to be still and to enter into the rest of the Lord. If we have sinned and compound the destructive force of our sins by loving vanity and chasing after the lie that we are inherently incapable of change or growth and thus unworthy of Christ’s love or mercy, then we are transforming godly sorrow into worldly sorrow, and the Glory of Christ’s salvation into shame. Shame does not come from God. Time and time again, when sinners were brought to the feet of Jesus, He refused to condemn them, but forgave them their sins, and, through their faith, He made them whole. When we feel glory, and not shame, as we repent, then we are offering the sacrifices of righteousness and putting our trust in the Lord and acknowledging that Christ’s forgiveness is more important than our own prideful attachment to shame. Let us all allow Godly sorrow to cast out shame, the sword of truth to cut through all of the lies that we are not worthy of forgiveness, and especially let us allow Godly sorrow to fill our hearts with gladness and peace as we are forgiven and made whole through the mercy and power of Christ and His Atonement.
