Sadness according to god

Javier knocked desperately on my door one afternoon. After converting to Christ, he had lived through a wonderful time of victory and transformation. He was another person and his life habits were changing in a way that he himself was amazed and very grateful to God and to the church that had received him with so much love, despite his past somewhat complicated.

When we sat down to talk, her tears welled up:

"I thought he was a Christian and was not going to go back," he said, almost without being able to speak.

He was miserable because he had fallen back into one of his old habits. His sadness was immense.

"I'm not going to church again." I'm not worthy of being among you, ”he added.

It was difficult for me to help him hold back his tears and his hopelessness. He did not understand how he had been able to fall back into the behavior that for some months he had abandoned.

"I thought I was already a Christian," he said over and over, "but I can't fool myself, much less you who have helped me so much."

I began to explain to him that although he was very sorry for his fall, his great sadness was evidence that he was now really a Christian. And he began to glimpse a small ray of hope. He was very confused about taking an action that was common in his life before; but now it was causing him pain and shame. He thought that his profession of faith was false and that to be honest he should abandon his attempt to live a different life.

In my life as a pastor I have seen many times that after surrendering to Christ, a fall into sin or improper conduct makes some new believers think that their conversion is not genuine. The reality is that the immense sadness that these people feel is the greatest proof that they are Christians and the Spirit of God is working in them. This is precisely why they feel sad and dejected.

That is the sadness according to God of which the Bible tells us, the immense sadness that is experienced when we know that we have done wrong and that we have sinned against him. These people need more than anything else the encouragement and help of their fellow believers in order to move forward in the process of spiritual growth that they have begun. A fall does not have to mean the end if the sadness that results from it confirms that we now have a new way of thinking.

If you have fallen and are feeling immensely sad, confess your pain and confusion to the Lord with all sincerity. His forgiveness will cover your grief and you can move on.

God bless you!