I am glad that you are sad!

Parenting is not a job for the faint of heart.  It takes guts to stand up to the fury of a child whose will is frustrated. It takes patience to keep saying the same things over again until they become part of the child’s life. And then there is that famous parenting line: “You know this hurts me more than it hurts you.”  Only when a child grows up to be a parent can she understand just how badly it hurts to cause sorrow with the goal of creating positive change.  Observing my adult children parenting their little ones with love and discipline makes me glad that I was willing to look past their tearful protests 25 years ago!

Paul, the spiritual father of the Christians in ancient Corinth, sent them a letter of correction that called them on their abuse of spiritual gifts, their immature divisions, and their lack of love for all. His words were strong. In his second letter he tells them that he had heard that they are making changes and he says, “I am glad that you are sad.”  Is he gloating? Is he sadistic? Not at all!  “Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:8-10, NIV)

Has the Lord disciplined you?  He does, you know.  His grace and mercy are deep and wide, but they do not cause Him to turn a blind eye to our willful disobedience. He loves us too much to allow us to destroy ourselves without challenging us.  I know when I have grieved God’s Spirit because I sense His disappointment.  That sense of peace that I know when He is with me lifts and I feel alone.  Confession and repentance restores the relationship. David knew that feeling, too.  In a Psalm that is a most heart-wrenching cry of godly sorrow he sings, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” (Psalm 51:10-12, NLT)

Paul tells the church that failing to recognize Jesus as Lord, abusing the grace of God, can bring sickness and even death to us. (Be careful about judging yourself or others too quickly on this point!  God also uses these things to show His glory.)  When everything is going wrong, when we are continually sick, when depression stalks us –  we are wise to ask the Father if we are living in ways that invite His discipline.  If He reveals choices, words, thoughts that are rebellious, there is only one thing to do:  repent! “The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17, NLT)

Even as I write this, I know that some will misunderstand and turn these words into a reason for condemnation or pride.  God is not petty nor petulant. He is good and kind.  The Scripture is clear that not all of the outcomes of life are direct cause and effect, at least from our limited perspective.  Godly people often suffer and sometimes the wicked prosper.  But, we cannot ignore the fact that God, our Father, desires obedience and corrects us for our own good.  He is glad when we are sad if that sorrow leads us to deeper devotion and sincere change of heart.

Are you troubled by the silence of God?
Is life filled with troubles?

Wisely, humbly, and with times of quiet prayer evaluate your ways.  Haggai told the Lord’s people that they needed to take a second look at the way they were living. They were ignoring the Lord, while serving themselves, but God would not bless them. “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” (Haggai 1:4-6, NIV)

Here’s the word from the Word. “My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live?While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best.” -The Message, Heb 12:5-10