Godly Sorrow

We live in a hard world.  A world of instant gratification, entitlement, and greed.  There is a drug or cure for almost any problem.  We can fly across the world in a matter of hours and talk to anyone at any time.  We live in big houses and drive fast cars.  We are a spoiled generation with conveniences at our fingertips that millions of people from the past could have only dreamed of.  We are busy, distracted, and self centered.  The world revolves around me...  This mentality is killing us... spiritually.  And making us emotionally numb.  It's no wonder so many people have chosen to abandon God.  It's easier that way and they never have to worry about feelings of guilt.

It's a sad situation to be in.  I wish I could help others understand.  

As I grow older and hopefully wiser, I am continually gaining a greater understanding as to how the Atonement works and the vital role it plays in our lives.  How grateful I am for that divine sacrifice in my behalf and in behalf of all mankind.  

In order for the Atonement to truly be applied to us, we need to understand what godly sorrow is.  We need to have this godly sorrow if we are to be forgiven from our sins, especially sins of a serious nature.  Each time I experience this form of sorrow I am cleansed and humbled and my gratitude for the precious gift given to us by Jesus Christ is renewed.  I feel His love for me and the love our Father in Heaven feels for me.  It is a private and personal experience that can only be attained by the prayerful seeking of our Father's forgiveness.  It is a deep sorrow that comes from deep within the soul and proceeds to the point of a physical reaction that leaves the sinner not only spiritually exhausted, but physically exhausted as well.  It's a process that brings us to our very knees caused by the shame we feel for our wrongs.  The more we understand this process and seek that "oneness" with God, the more often we will experience it because we become acutely aware of our sins, and our desire to be clean before God takes precedence over our desire to do and have the things of the world, therefore shedding the skin of the natural man as spoken of by Paul in the 2nd chapter of 1 Corinthians in the New Testament.

It gives new understanding and meaning to Ecclesiastes 1:18, which says: 'For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.'  In other words, the more we seek to know God and to live our lives based on an eternal perspective, the greater our desire is to live His laws and obey His commandments.  And when we sincerely apply that knowledge to our lives, the more sorrow we feel for even the smallest of sins.  We begin to have a watered down understanding as to the kind of suffering Jesus Christ went through in the Garden of Gethsemane when he bled from every pore for the sins of the world.  When we feel that sorrow for our sins, we suffer in a similitude as to how He suffered and our sins are forgiven.  That is how the Atonement works.  That is how repentance works.  

When the process is completed we can feel a true peace and joy like none other.  It's like coming up out of the water for air.  We are truly "born again".  We are cleansed and back on the path to life with our Father in Heaven once again.  That moment when the Holy Ghost whispers to your mind and heart that you have been forgiven by God is a humbling and unspeakable experience.  It's as if you can physically feel the arms of our Father in Heaven wrap around you in a warm embrace and it's as though He were here and whispering in your ear how much He loves you.  It is a beautiful thing.  

How grateful I am for guilt.  How grateful I am that I can know by my guilt when I have offended God so that I can take the steps necessary to make it right again.  My greatest desire is to please God and to be in good standing before Him.  He is the Father of my spirit and I am his daughter.  As long as I live I will do what is necessary, again and again to accomplish that.  So the world can continue to turn away from Him if they choose.  They can belittle me if they choose.  They can live in a world that revolves only around them.  They can do as they choose.  I won't stop them.  But as for me, I will choose to believe in Jesus Christ and in God.  I will devote my life to them.  I cannot deny the experiences I have had.  I have felt their love for me.  I know they are real.  I will be obedient to God's commandments to the best of my ability and when I mess up, I will repent and I will begin again.  And I will be at peace.