There are two different kinds of sadness in our world: sadness that leads us to despair, and sadness that leads us to action. One kind paralyses; the other kind empowers. We may be sad about events in our world, or England going out of the Euros, or it may be a personal loss or tragedy. The question is what kind of sadness will it be? One that will lead us to do something, or one that will lead us to do nothing?

The founders of organisations like Comic Relief and Band Aid were spurred on by sadness. They saw the terrible state things were in in the world, but instead of succumbing to sorrow, they let their grief guide them into action. Their sadness produced something good.

So often though the problems lie not ‘out there’, but inside our own hearts and minds. For me, I know things in the world can make me sad, but so often it’s my own mistakes, my own actions, my own heart that gets me down.

The Bible speaks about such situations: “…godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation…, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10). That is a lot of jargon in one sentence, but it basically means this: God doesn’t want us to spiral into sadness; instead he wants our sadness to spur us to change. He wants it to lead us to repentance.

Now, repentance is not just ‘saying sorry’, or saying some prayers, or feeling really sad. Repentance is a change of heart and mind that leads to a change of action. It’s an active thing.

God wants our sadness at ourselves to lead us to change. When Jesus started his ministry that was his big message: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the good news.” (Mark 1:15) Jesus was saying, “Don’t stay as you are. Don’t let the sadness stifle you. Repent for a fresh start and forgiveness.” That’s what God wants.

So next time you feel sad, whether it’s in two years’ time at the World Cup (though who knows - we might just win it!) or more likely some time sooner: think about what kind of sadness you will let it be. Will it be one that spirals into despair or one that spurs you into action? Maybe even repentance, which leads to salvation, turning sadness into something good.