Ungodly discouragement and Godly sorrow that leads to encouragement

 "Just so happens" when I was doing my devotionals that both the old and new were about writing letters and the delivery of a message. In Nehemiah, the person who wrote this letter was writing to try stop and discourage the work of God that was spoken to Nehemiah, which was to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. The message that was sent to Nehemiah was that he was going to along with other rebel, and had plans to become king, and also hired prophets to proclaim about Nehemiah being appointed as king. Then asked Nehemiah to come and discuss this, but was in fact trying to harm him instead.

 There is a rumor among the surrounding nations, and Geshem tells me it is true, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel and that is why you are building the wall. According to his reports, you plan to be their king. ⁷ He also reports that you have appointed prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim about you, ‘Look! There is a king in Judah!’“You can be very sure that this report will get back to the king, so I suggest that you come and talk it over with me.

Nehemiah wrote back

⁸ I replied, “There is no truth in any part of your story. You are making up the whole thing.”

⁹ They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination.

In the discouraging letter

1. There was no truth to any part of the message that was sent
2. Meaning that person who sent the letter made the entire thing up without evidence
3. The message was to intimidate
4. To discourage you from stopping the work that God gave you
5. To also kill, steal, and destroy (harm)


Then I went to the new testament, and was reading out of 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 7:8-10

I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. ⁹ Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. ¹⁰ For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

I imagine that the letter Paul is talking about is 1 Corinthians which is full or correction for the  Corinthian believers on different topics that led them to adopt low standards. He talks about spiritual pride, judgement, sexual sin, lawsuits, marriage, food, spiritual gifts, and pretty much all the same things the church of today deals with.

1. Writer felt sorry at first, but then didn't because it caused a change
2. Wasn't meant to hurt but was meant for change
3. Godly sorrow is without harm (unlike ungodly sorrow)
4. Leads away from sin
5. Leads towards salvation
6. No regrets with Godly sorrow
7. Godly sorrow doesn't lead to spiritual death (unlike ungodly sorrow)
8. Doesn't discourage you to stop the work of God
9. Doesn't intimidate 
10. The message has truth to it

Then Paul was able to see what his correction caused in the believers, even though at first it may have caused pain.

Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right. ¹² My purpose, then, was not to write about who did the wrong or who was wronged. I wrote to you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how loyal you are to us. ¹³ We have been greatly encouraged by this.

These are the things that were produced later from Godly sorrow

1. Earnestness
2. Concern to have a clear conscious
3. Indignation
4. Alarm
5. Longing
6. Zeal
7. Ready for justice
8. Made things right
9. Encouragement

Paul answers it very clearly on why he felt compelled to write and that wasn't to blame, but
I wrote to you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how loyal you are to us.