Redeemer reads 2 Corinthians 7
As we continue to read 2 Corinthians together Esther-Maria shares with us the difference between worldly and godly sorrow.
Welcome! Over the next few weeks we are going to be reading 2 Corinthians together as a church, 1 chapter every week day. We’re encouraging everyone to read the passage, pray, and share with a few others what they felt God was pointing out to them in his word. Every day we’re going to be hearing from someone at Redeemer about what they felt God pointed out to them as they read the passage.
This morning Esther-Maria is sharing with us, you can watch her video above. She has also shared some of her thoughts on the passage below.
Today’s chapter reveals the difference between worldly sorrow, which leads to grief, and godly sorrow, which leads to joy. Conviction by the Holy Spirit leads to repentance and it is precisely in turning to Jesus and away from sin that we find joy. This joy is not like happiness, which is a result of a specific situation, but it is regardless of any circumstance, as it comes from Jesus, Who dwells within us now and forever.
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. However, we must be receptible to conviction by the Holy Spirit, in order that we may obey God and live our lives in ways that align with Jesus’ character and heart. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and transform us to be more like Jesus.
This chapter also shows the importance of correction. As a loving family in Christ, we must be those that help one another to be active in fleeing from sin and turning to Jesus. Instead of judging one another or letting each other do what we please, even when it is harmful to ourselves or others, we must be loving and point one another to Jesus. This can be done through loving correction, which builds us up.
Adoration:
Lord, I thank You for Your love and Your patience with me, that I have been able to be adopted into Your family when I repented as a result of conviction from Your Holy Spirit.
Confession:
I am sorry for the times I have ignored conviction from You and continued in my own ways.
Thanksgiving:
Jesus, I thank You that by dying on the cross and rising again, You have caused the veil to be torn, that we may know and have a relationship with You. I thank You that You have allowed for the Holy Spirit to be poured out, to work in us, and make us more like You through conviction.
Supplication:
Holy Spirit, please be at work in me, that I may be quick to repent and that I may listen to and obey Your voice. Lord, would You let Your joy overflow in me, that others may see the unconditional and supernatural joy You alone bring.
Further Study
We have shared a blog from Scotty Smith before in this ‘Further Study’ section of the blog, and today we’re sharing another. In this blog - entitled ‘A Prayer About God Comforting the Downcast’ - Scotty confronts the reality that we’re not always on top of our game, and celebrates the fact that there’s nothing wrong with that.
Covid-19 - Grief, Anxiety & Prayer
Sarah helps us to process our grief and anxiety, by encouraging us to follow Jesus’ example and join together in prayer.
I’ve been thinking about my feelings and emotions quite a lot in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. It’s something I always try to be mindful of but this pandemic has really heightened the daily process of trying to pinpoint how I feel. Naming my emotions doesn’t always come naturally to me, however grief and anxiety about the future were two things that came to mind, and I’m pretty sure these feelings aren’t unique to me.
Grief is a strong word, but in this time we have all lost much, be it big or small. Not just the obvious loss of life, but I’ve been particularly shaken by the impact this has had on jobs, businesses and people’s livelihoods. I’m also grieving the loss of community; friends who we spend time with regularly, church, family gatherings, coffee dates and people round for dinner in the evenings. I’m grieving the loss of ‘normal’ life and the way it used to look for us.
And then there’s anxiety - an emotion that sadly I’m pretty familiar with and have battled with before - that physical feeling of apprehension about what is to come. When will it end? How many will die? How many will lose their jobs? When will I be able to go to a shop without worrying what I’m touching, or go for a walk in the park without keeping 2 metres away from the person coming the other way? I think it’s the unknown in so many of these things that makes the fear really amplified; it allows the imagination to run wild.
As I pondered these things I felt somewhat guilty for feeling them. Doesn’t God have the answers to all these things? Should I even be feeling this? I was almost immediately reminded of two instances in Jesus’ life where he experienced these similar emotions.
The first was Jesus’ expression of grief after Lazarus died in John 11:35 where ‘Jesus wept.’ He shares in the grief of Lazarus’ friends and family even though he knows that moments later he will raise Lazarus from the dead. He doesn’t deny the emotion of that moment in spite of this. It is ok that we grieve, and feel sad about what we have lost, even though we trust and hope in what God can do next.
The second instance was Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane where he expresses anguish in anticipation of going to the cross, asking God if there is any other way (Luke 22:39-46). He prays in such earnest that he sweats blood. It is ok that we look ahead in anticipation of the next weeks and months and feel anguish and uncertainty.
In both these situations Jesus expresses strong emotions. But he also follows each with the same response. He goes to the Father in prayer. The first time asking for a miracle for the situation they were in; the second time asking for God’s strength and for his will to be done, returning in prayer several times until he receives what he needs from God. It is ok that we feel emotion but that doesn’t take away from the fact that we should go to God in prayer. And going to God in prayer also doesn’t mean that these emotions will simply vanish immediately. As someone who sees much of life in black and white holding these things in tension isn’t easy for me. I tend to think that I should either feel emotion or pray. I'm learning, as Jesus did, to express what I’m feeling to God in prayer, knowing I can return to him again and again, as many times as I need.
As a Redeemer church family we're going to be ‘meeting’ virtually to pray every Wednesday evening which will serve as a great opportunity for us together to bring everything we’re going through and feeling in this season to God; hope to see you there!
Sarah Montgomery-Taylor