When feeling bad can be something good

All of us sin, myself included. When this happens, we feel bad about it. And who likes to feel bad, right? 

Well, today I’d like to explain how even feeling bad about sin can be a sign of God’s love for you.

Let me explain—and you’ve got to stick with me on this one.

Before we get to the nice part, let’s be honest about the nasty party.

First, sin is very bad. Technically, it is going against God’s laws and teachings. The apostle John says this directly in 1 John 3:4: “sin is lawlessness.”

King David was very aware of the vileness of sin. After having committed a series of serious sins, he said: “Cast me not away from your presence…” (Psalm 51:11). Hebrew linguist Robert Alter says this carries the sense of not flinging him away in disgust, as someone might fling a dead mouse out of the house. David is aware that his sin is repugnant to God.

In this same vein, Isaac Ambrose once wrote: “The memory of my pollution is a vomit to my soul…”* That is someone who has taken the depravity of their own sin seriously!

With all this in mind, let’s get to the second point—and this is where we’re heading.

God gave you your conscience. When you go against his teachings and laws, and when you feel bad about it, this is actually a sign of God’s love. He’s disciplining you because he cares for you. It’s one of the ways that our heavenly Father encourages his children to change course. He wants us to go in a good direction, not a bad one—and our conscience is one of the tools he uses.

Happily, our God is a forgiving God. If you have sincerely asked for his forgiveness in Christ, he has given it to you. You don’t need to keep beating yourself up. Receive his forgiveness, and move forward in a genuine commitment to Christlikeness. (Theologically, this is called repentance.)

Let’s thank God for giving us a conscience which reminds us about sin and leads us in a better direction—a conscience which reminds us that he loves us and wants better things for his precious children. 

After all, as we are told in Hebrews 12:6: “the Lord disciplines the one he loves…”

Notes:

-*Tim Chester, ed., Into His Presence: Praying with the Puritans (The Good Book Company, 2022), 91.
-Bible quotes, ESV.