THE PATH TO SPIRITUAL FREEDOM
THIS STEP IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART: BE BRAVE, BE HONEST, BE WILLING. LOOK WITH GOD IN A MIRROR TO YOUR SOUL.
Sorrow and its part: Certain conditions and experiences are necessary for us to come into spiritual wholeness. Loving the Lord is not all there is to it. We must deal with self. The Christian will find some of these self-related issues coming into view when we are engaged in a sincere seeking of God. Seeking requires a state of openness and surrender which is part of the life of a true Christ-follower. Nothing is to be held back. Even the spiritually motivated human is capable of lying to self about their inner soul’s true condition. God must be asked and honesty must be enacted through the eyes of spiritual truth. The mirror of God reflects truth back as you ask God to reveal what is true about yourself.
Set aside “alone time” with God. To come to a place of godly sorrow will require a quiet place of serenity. Plan a block of time to walk through the actions of the present and actions from the past, a time where you ask God to reveal the areas of sin or wrongdoing that you have not fully addressed. Asking godly friends to pray for you in advance of this time might be advisable.
GODLY SORROW:
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldy sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.” 2 Cor 7:10 NIV
Sorrow for personal wrong-doing or for causing pain to another person is something that God brings to consciousness in us as we allow him access to our present and past behaviors. Sorrow of this kind is an act of deep-felt regret, an immeasurable sadness, a wish that different choices had been made, that words had not been voiced, that harmful actions had not been undertaken. It is an honest, probing look deep into our heart of hearts allowing no excuses or rationalizations, a truthful realization of your own part, your own self-will, the pain you caused, or the failure to act or do what was right or best in a given situation. True sorrow that leads to repentance is a deep-felt inner desire to acknowledge the wrong you have done, to voice it to God to make it right, and to be moved in the soul for that which was evil or wrong-minded in you. This is the sorrow that leads to repentance that we read about in scripture. Sorrow is not looking at the wrong in the other person or participants even if they were a key player in the dynamic; it is not holding them up as guilty and blaming them for your actions. Sorrow is looking intently at the wrong in you…and being overwhelmed by its truth. It is being regretful of the hurt you may have caused to another person and the hurt you have caused to your own self. Believe me, this is a huge area of denial in many religious, spiritual people. It can cause people to become rigid, unbending, and unyielding.
You see, Christ gives us a sweetness that comes from Himself when we are willing to deal with our stuff. He waits for us to give up doing it our way to begin doing it His way. His way entails a deep cleaning in our heart, mind, and soul that he may heal and restore us to full life and living. This is in addition to saving grace that we receive at the moment of our salvation. Many people miss this step and miss out on so much that Christ offers. This is part of a consecration process that is key in our spiritual transforming into Christ likeness.
Logic, according to what is in self’s best interest, can be a deception. We have a great ability to distort truth, to justify actions, and white-wash actions that, in reality, are an offense to God. We also bury those things we wish no one to know about. Shame and guilt, the fear of condemnation or disapproval, and a host of other reasons keep us silent. For example, an unwanted pregnancy at a wrong time with the wrong person can lead to a wrong choice being made, the choice that others might logically say is the right or best choice because of the situation. My heart is grieved when I listen to woman after woman explain the reasons they made choices that continue to hurt them. I can truthfully say, God was there at the time of loss or abuse. He felt the pain, the act of perdition, the sadness, in his precious, holy, heart.
If this is you, whether it was abortion, abuse, rejection, adultery, betrayal, or something else, I want you to know that Jesus Christ bore your pain and bore your sorrow. He was there at the time of the hurt. He loves you with a love that forgives, cleanses, and heals. He will help you. Be honest with him.
However, this is not just about those terrible sins that are so easily recognized. It is also about self-righteousness and self-promotion, pride and arrogance, unforgiveness and grudge-bearing, withholding and controlling, issues which are also matters of great sin and wrong-headed behaviors. These must be acknowledged, repented of with godly sorrow. God must be asked to reveal what are our own areas of guilt. We fail to recognize some of them. That is why we need assistance. God’s Spirit will guide our thoughts to those issues we have buried or dissed. Looking at them in light of holiness helps us to see them for what they are in the sight of God.
It is critical and essential to look within one’s soul to see its true condition. Those areas where we have fallen short, caused pain to another, or chosen to self-protect rather than to trust in God, must be brought to the throne of grace. The human has a great capacity for making up their own truth as a way to escape the inner pain or to shut up the hurt as a way to shield out the shame and guilt. God must help us come clean and pure. In my way of thinking, I believe we should go through a grieving process as we look at our past negative actions and sins, areas we have chosen self over holiness, those things which have been compartmentalized in hiding places lost or stored deep within our true selves. For these areas to be fully released to God, there must be an acknowledgement of their existence and then a painful regret or remorse that causes us to sorrow in a godly way. This will enact a great compelling toward holiness. It is the truth that sets a person free.
Godly sorrowing is not just a mental exercise. Saying the words is not enough. Our heart must be involved. It must sorrow. Truly, it must. We must grieve their existence and the harm they have caused. That is when we are able to give them to God. Why is this necessary? Isn’t confession of sin enough? In practice it would seem to be enough. In reality, for there to be change and a freeing deep within, we must engage with God by seeing the offenses for what they are and what they mean. Otherwise, they still will have a crippling affect that overshadows the ability to walk free. I will try to explain this. Denial or pretending that these areas of duplicity or sin don’t exist in us causes a deadness within our souls. They hinder our capacity to experience joy and freedom in Christ. Their hidden presence will affect interpersonal relationships because of the pressure within that lashes out, withholds, or withdraws. It reveals self-protected ways of living out life so there won’t be more hurt. None are able to escape these issues until they deal with self. A person may even become a runner who runs never looking back rather than deal with their true self and its areas of bondage. It is such that inhibits the ability to walk free.
A redeemed child of God often has areas within them that need to be lifted up to God for his cleansing and purifying work of grace. They were forgiven at salvation, yes, but they must be acknowledged and then the healing may enter into that area of your real self. It is not enough to just be saved, a child of God, that is just the starting point. A relationship that has power and abundance requires of the person to step out into the journey of faith. The walk intensifies when we seek God to find him. The relationship must become real. For it to be real, there must be full disclosure of all the hidden things that have caused us to wear masks of pretending that says “I’m good,” when we really aren’t okay.
Let me say, it will require of you that you ask God to show you what needs to be dealt with, those areas that reside within you that stunt or cripple your soul. People who walk in intimacy of relationship with God have removed their masks and God helped them to do it. It is not something you can do without God’s intervention. He will reveal them to you, I assure you. Ask Father God to lead you to godly sorrow that leads to repentance that you may have the right attitude toward the offense, that you may know the true state of your soul, your heart’s condition, that you may give it to your heavenly Father who loves you with a love beyond comprehension.
God wants to change you and to set you free. Approach Him. He is waiting for you. He really is waiting just for you.
Norma L Brumbaugh, with The Path to Spiritual Freedom
PURCHASE:THE MEETING PLACE by N. L. BRUMBAUGH
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