The second Beatitude is in Matthew 5:4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
WHAT IS MOURNING?
What? God wants us to be sad? That can’t be right.
Maybe God wants us to grieve so we will turn toward Him for comfort. No, that can’t be right either.
What then does the mourning refer to?
It means that we are to align our hearts to God—to mourn as God mourns. We are to grieve for our own sins and for how our sins grieve our Holy God.
It means to mourn for how we have hurt others.
for the misery of others.
for others who are unsaved.
The person who mourns understands that he has dishonored God. If I mourn for my sins, I recognize that my sins hurt God; that I am empty of righteousness; that I do not deserve salvation or heaven.
If I mourn I realize through the grace of God am I forgiven and approved.
If I mourn I have been convicted by the Holy Spirit.
If I mourn, I desire to do what is right in the sight of our Holy God.
THE PROMISE
The promise to those who mourn is to be comforted. When we accept Jesus, we are gifted with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit?
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever. (John 14:16 AMP)
If we mourn—ask forgiveness, repent, believe—we receive the Comforter. The Holy Spirit will comfort us. Always. Because the Holy Spirit is always with us.
Mourning is a blessing, after all.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for making us teachable. We’re sorry when we hurt you through our sins. We know we don’t deserve your salvation. Thank you for saving us anyway. Thank you also for sending us the Holy Spirit to comfort us with your love. Amen.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? In what ways to you mourn on behalf of God?
2 comments:
There has been thoughtless behavior in my life that has hurt someone that I can't fix or repair--so not only did I cause someone pain, but I have had pain---deep mourning over it. I hadn't thought of Matt. 5:4 as addressing this kind of mourning, reading it more as dealing with having lost someone or something such as health. I don't know that I feel comforted even though I have asked God for forgiveness and I do believe I have been forgiven and I praise God for that, but I still have the consequence of my behavior.
Very well said ...
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