Constructive Sorrows

Bible reading: 2 Corinthians 7:8 – 11

Step 4 - We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40

Principle 4 –  Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. (Steps  4 and 5)

“Happy are the pure in heart.”

We all have to deal with sorrow. We may try to stuff it down and ignore it. We may try to drown it or avoid feeling it by intellectualizing. But sorrow doesn’t go away. We need to accept the sorrow that will be a part of the inventory process.

Not all sorrow is bad for us. The apostle Paul had written a letter to the church in Corinth. It made them very sad because Paul was confronting them about something that they were doing wrong. At first, he was sorry that he had hurt them. But later he said, “Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain turned you to God. It was a good kind of sorrow you felt, the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have… For God sometimes uses sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek eternal life. We should never regret His sending it… Just see how much good this grief from the Lord did for you! You no longer shrug your shoulders, but became earnest and sincere, and very anxious to get rid of the sin.” (2 Corinthians 7:8 – 11)

Jeremiah said, “Although God gives… Grief, yet he will show compassion too, according to the greatness of his loving kindness. For he does not enjoy afflicting men and causing sorrow.” (Lamentations 3:32 – 33)

This grief was good, for it came from honest self-evaluation, not morbid self-condemnation. We can learn to accept their sorrow as a positive part of our recovery, not just as punishment.

Honest self-examination can lead us to a sorrow that inspires our growth.

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