The Beatitudes Part 2

Blessed are they that mourn

Matt 5:4 (KJV) Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted.

Pentheo: to grieve (the feeling or the act) :- mourn, (be-) wail.

 —Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

We rarely think that those who mourn or grieve are blessed, but Jesus says they are.  He promises comfort.  We think that those who are best off are those who seem to “have it made” in the here and now.  Jesus said otherwise:

Luke 6:24 (UKJV)  But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort.  25 Woe to you who are full, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.  26 Woe to you, when all men will speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Remember the rich man and Lazarus:

Luke 16:19-26 (NKJV) ¹⁹ "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.  ²⁰ But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, ²¹ desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table.  Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.  The rich man also died and was buried.  ²³ And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.  ²⁴ Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'  ²⁵ But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'

Better to mourn now and have sorrow now than to have sorrow later on in the life to come.

James 4:7 (UKJV) Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will run away from you.  ⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, sinners; and purify your hearts, double minded.  ⁹ Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.  ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.

There is a time for sorrow just as there is a time for joy.  (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)  There is a time to be serious.  There is a time to draw near to God in reverence and respect.  There are times when laughter and joking are not appropriate.  Godly sorrow leads to repentance.  Humility is precious to God.

2 Cor 4:16-18 (UKJV) Therefore we do not get weak; but even though our outward man dies, nevertheless the inward is renewed day by day.  ¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more abundant eternal weight of glory;  ¹⁸ We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Do you have sorrow?  Do you have affliction?  It is not going to last forever.  In view of eternity, it won’t last more than a moment.  God will cause it to work to good if you love him.  It works for us a far more abundant eternal weight of glory. 

Don’t focus on the things that are temporary and passing away.  Focus on the things that will last forever.  (ex. Mary and Martha)

Luke 10:38-42 (NKJV) ³⁸ Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." ⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

 Heb 12:7-11 (NKJV) If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
⁸ But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
⁹ Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
¹⁰ For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
¹¹ Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Punishment is not fun, but parents who love their children do it for the sake of their children.  It helps them be better children and can even save their life.  Discipline can make us better people.

I remember many times when I was younger and got in trouble.  I had to be disciplined by my father.  Some of his lessons and punishments caused me great sorrow and even tears at the time, but they were given out of love.  He let me know they were given out of love.  The world tries to twist things around and sometimes calls loving discipline abuse, but the truth is that lack of discipline is a form of abuse through neglect.  Even God, Himself, disciplines us out of love.  We don’t always understand it at the time, but it does make us better in the long run.

Prov 3:12 (UKJV) For whom the LORD loves he corrects; even as a father the son in whom he delights

Rev 7:13-17 (NKJV) Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?"
¹⁴ And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
¹⁵ Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
¹⁶ They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;
¹⁷ for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

There is a special group of people waiting in paradise right now.  They are those who have gone through a great tribulation.  They are those who have gone through great suffering.  They are being comforted.  Don’t give up when you experience sorrow.  Remember that comfort can come of it.

Romans 8:18 (NKJV) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

How glorious will heaven be?  How horrible can suffering be here on this earth?  The more horrible it can be the greater Heaven is in comparison.  Heaven will be a glorious place of comfort.  Don’t you want to be there?

2 Cor 12:7-10 (NKJV) And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
⁸ Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
⁹ And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  
¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

“It’s too heavy for me!”  How many times have you heard that from a little child?  They admit their weakness.  Picture a young girl playing at having a picnic.  In her play she finds a bucket filled with heavy things.  She wants to move it to a different place, but realizes that she can’t.  Perhaps she has plans for that bucket to serve as a seat or a picnic table in her play.  She wants it moved, but she can’t move it.  She knows she is too weak and so she asks you for help. You team up with her and pick up the bucket.  She grabs hold of the handle with you and does as much as she can to help.  She is determined to do her part even if she can’t do it all.  She was too weak to do it on her own, so she got help and got the job done.  Out of her weakness, out of her realization and acknowledgement of her weakness, she became strong. 

God’s strength is made perfect in weakness.  That’s because we are so weak compared to God.  When we admit it and ask for His help, that is when we get things done.

Psalms 55:22 (NKJV) ²² Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

My father once researched this Hebrew word translated cast.  He said it could be translated “rolling over”.  Roll over your burden on the Lord and He shall sustain you.  He told about helping my grandfather who had a business selling fertilizer in large heavy bags.  He used to go with him to make deliveries as a young boy.  The 100 pound bags were too heavy for him to lift on his own so he would roll them to his father who would take them away. 

Sometimes our burdens are too great for us.  They are too much to carry.  We need to roll them over to God.  He will pick them up.  He will carry them for us.

What about you?  Are you in sorrow today?  Place your burdens on Jesus.  Do you realize your own weakness?  Turn to God for strength.  Turn to God for comfort.