7月13日

標　　題：依著神的意思憂愁

經　　節：因為依著神的意思憂愁，就生出沒有後悔的懊悔來，以致得救；但世俗的憂愁是叫人死。（哥林多後書七章10節）

屬世的憂愁與屬神的憂愁有所不同，雖然兩者都涉及內心深處的情感。你可能為自己所做的事很憂愁，也可能因為自己的失敗及得罪神與人而憂心如焚。猶大也有同樣的憂愁。他為三十塊銀子，一個奴隸的公定價碼，出賣神的兒子。然而，他並沒有因為自己的憂愁而悔改，找其他門徒和解。他反而因為心裡極端地痛苦，跑出去吊死（馬太福音廿七：3∼5）。猶大帶著他的憂愁進了墳墓。

彼得的憂愁是多麼的大不相同！彼得也是在耶穌被處極刑時背棄主。彼得也跑到外面哀哭（路加福音廿二：62）。然而，彼得回到耶穌的身邊，向耶穌再次肯定自己的愛（約翰福音廿一：15∼17）。彼得不僅是懊悔，他也悔改。彼得的生命改變了。再也沒有記錄顯示彼得又否認主，即使在他被執刑，面對死亡威脅時，也沒有背離主。彼得悔改，並且生命改變了，不再犯那樣的罪。

不要讓自己的懊悔奪取你真誠悔改的機會。你可以自責，為自己所犯的罪行憤怒，但是這不是悔改。允許聖靈光照你罪的嚴重性，求聖靈清楚讓你明白神對你的性格有何看法。當你以神的角度看自己的罪，你會體驗到屬神的憂愁。

Godly Sorrow

For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)

There is a difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow, though both are deeply felt. You can feel genuine sorrow over something you have done. Your mind can become consumed with your failure and offense against God and others. Judas felt this kind of sorrow. He betrayed the Son of God for thirty pieces of silver, the standard price of a slave. Yet his sorrow did not lead him to repent and to seek restoration with his fellow disciples, but rather to a lonely field where, in his anguish, he took his own life (Matt. 27:3–5). Judas carried his sorrow to his grave.

How different Peter’s sorrow was! Peter, too, failed Jesus on the night of His crucifixion. Peter also went out and wept bitterly (Luke 22:62). Yet Peter returned to Jesus and reaffirmed his love for Him (John 21:15–17). Peter was not only remorseful, he was also repentant. Peter’s life changed. There is no record of Peter ever denying his Lord again, even when he was persecuted and threatened with death. Peter repented, turned his life around, and never committed that sin again.

Don’t allow mere unhappiness over what you have done to rob you of genuine repentance. You can blame yourself and be angry with yourself for the sins you have committed, but that is not repentance. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the gravity of your sins. Ask the Spirit to clearly show you how God views your character. When you see your sin from God’s perspective, you will experience godly sorrow.