Paul was so upset with the Corinthians, he wrote a very harsh letter criticizing the Corinthians. He was concerned about how the Corinthians might respond so Paul sent Titus to Corinth to check out how things were, how they responded to the letter. But, Paul did not hear anything from Titus. So, while Paul was awaiting word from Titus in Macedonia he was deeply distressed, even depressed..and this is the pain that he is speaking of.
But, Paul was comforted by finally seeing Titus and even moreso hearing Titus' message - that the Corinthians received the letter well- and they were even looking forward to seeing Paul...
How would you react if someone came into our church and told us how messed up we were? Most people would get defensive... Would we respond in agreement like the church in Corinth did?
Because the grief and sadness caused by Paul's "pointing out of their sin" -- actually led to a realization of their sins and then towards repentance...
So, godly grief-- sometimes getting down in the dumps.. sometimes a church going through bad stuff is a good thing -- because it finally makes us repent.
If we never suffered as a church we may never realize our sinfulness and we may never repent.
There are times where a church may be revealed for its sinfulness. It is embarrassing. It is sad.. Sometimes we are shocked -- "our church messed up?"
But remember, godly grief leads to repentance that leads to salvation.
sometimes grief and sadness -- a down period with God is a good thing.
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