2 Corinthians – Chapter 7

As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. 2 Corinthians 7:9 – What Paul did in his first letters and in his visit to the church in Corinth is the part of our Christian walk that the majority of us avoid at all costs. Addressing the sin in another’s person’s life. It can be one of the most challenging parts to our walk to do, for we are overwhelmed with all the possible outcomes that may take place. As with Paul, he sees that him doing this with the Corinthians grieved them greatly. They were saddened and bothered deeply by the words of Paul. While that certainly bothered Paul, we see from our verse he didn’t remain in a spot of sadness for saying what he did to the church. He actually was rejoicing for even though his words were hard for the church to hear, it pushed them to repent of their sin and they are free of it now. Let us remember as well that addressing the sin we see in another believer’s life is never going to be easy. They may be hurt and grieved that we brought it up, but if our addressing it leads to their repenting of that sin, what a wonderful thing that is! As brothers and sisters in Christ we are called to be watchful over each other’s walk and to hold each other accountable with the sins we see in each other’s lives. Be willing to speak up when you see sin present, but do so with grace and kindness. The aim is not their condemnation, the aim is their repentance. Be the fellow disciple in their life that loves them enough to say the words that will sound hard at first, but will lead to their health. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3130

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 – The grief spoken here is the shame and guilt you feel when you mess up and it’s all out in the open. There’s nothing to hide anymore, the one that you tried to hide it from sees it all. In both cases, godly grief and worldly grief, are the same-ish to this point. What happens next is where everything changes. The world wants to pile on the shame to make you feel worthless. As stated in the passage, it wants to create this shame in your deepest parts that creates this infection within you that leads to death of all your joy and peace. God though wants you to see the wrong you’ve done, but no where is His shoveling shame on you. What He longs for is for you to see the wrong you’ve done, see the hurt it caused, and choose to turn away from ever doing something like that again. Then He doesn’t stop there, He then wants to offer you, the same one that messes up, eternal life with Him still that has no regrets! It’s amazing to me how people still think God is the hateful one in this comparison. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 – This means there is a difference between the two griefs and that difference is everything. Godly grief is the sorrow one feels for the sin they committed which opens their eyes to the need of a Savior. Worldly grief is the sorrow one feels for the sin they committed which leads them to overwhelming shame and hiding from that same Savior. One allows us to see our need for repentance, the other drowns us is shame. God wants us to know how our sin has messed up our life, but He’s not in our story to hold it over us. He wants us to see how sin ruined our life and how it shouldn’t be our life, but He wants just as much if not more for us to know He forgives us and welcomes us to Himself. Please remember God showed you your sin so you’d come to Him not wallow in shame. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 725

For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. 2 Corinthians 7:11 – What does it mean that they were “innocent in the matter?” Paul in his previous letter to the church in Corinth was pretty sharp with them on a few issues within their church. Change needed to happen, and what Paul is comforted by is that change happened. What Paul came to find out was the church had been zealous in righting their wrongs so that now, in relation to the things he originally got onto to them for, they are “innocent.” They heard the corrective directions and made good efforts to change. I’m hoping this could be said of me in my walk with Jesus, that I’m hearing the changes I’m needing to make and being zealous about making those changes. I pray that for my church family. I pray that for my wife and girls. I pray that for you. That when God opens your eyes to a change that needs to take place in your life you don’t hesitate. You listen, humbly submit to the lead of your Savior, and you begin the process of change to be more in line with what God wants for you. What then has God laid on your heart to change? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2067