Scripture portion: Matthew 5:4 - “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN, FOR THEY SHALL BE COMFORTED”
If we don’t understand the true meaning of the above words, we would be surprised after reading them. How can anyone become blessed when they mourn?! These are confusing words to those who are not born again. But to those who are being saved, these words are life-giving.
In the previous message, we meditated upon being poor in spirit. We saw that only those who are poor in spirit can inherit the kingdom of God. When we realize that we are not poor in spirit and that there are so many obstacles which block us from being poor in spirit, we should repent. If we don’t realize, we cannot repent. There are people who would not repent even after realizing their sin. But Lord Jesus expects us to repent. From repentance comes mourning. By saying “Blessed are those who mourn”, Jesus is encouraging sinners to repent of their sins. Repentance will make us experience the saving power of the crucified Lord. God’s grace is rich. His love is wonderful. His presence is awesome. His Holiness is the most beautiful thing we will ever see. But all these cannot be experienced by those who don’t repent. God is waiting for us to repent. As soon as we start repenting, we can experience the grace, love, and holiness of His presence. When we experience these things, we will be comforted. Yes. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
When we realize that we are not poor in spirit, we shall say, “Lord, until now, I was never poor in my spirit. I filled my spirit with all kinds of evil things. My spirit should have been your dwelling place. You were tortured for my sake. You shed Your Blood for me. You died for me. You rose from the dead. You did this so that my spirit may become Your possession. But I didn’t offer myself to You. I filled my spirit with all kinds of sinful riches. Now, I realize my sin. I am giving up all those sinful riches, and making my spirit empty so that You can enter it and live in it. Lord! I become poor in spirit. Please accept me. Please forgive me. Lord ………..” This is the kind of mourning, which Jesus is talking about. Those who mourn likewise are surely blessed. Those who mourn likewise shall surely be comforted.
Until now we have meditated upon mourning which results from repentance. Now, we shall meditate upon mourning which results from tribulations.
We do mourn when we repent of our sins. But, we also mourn, when faced with tribulations. Are you in deep sorrow because of your tribulations? What is your problem? Is it related to finance, or health, or family, or something else? Right now, you may be mourning because of that great tribulation of yours. But, beloved child of God, be strengthened and comforted, for it is to you that Jesus is saying, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” It is when we are in deep sorrow, that we most experience the glorious presence of the Living Jesus Christ. Many people in this world are in deep sorrow. Since they are not born again, they cannot experience the comforting presence of God. But since we are the children of The Most High, we receive comfort from Heaven when we face tribulations. That is our privilege. That is why we are blessed even though we mourn. If mourning brings us closer to the presence of God Almighty, then let it come, for the sweetness of His presence is infinitely greater than the bitterness of our mourning.
Thirdly, we shall meditate upon mourning which results from persecutions.
Are you facing persecution for your faith in Jesus Christ? May be, your family members are scolding you because you gave your life to Jesus. May be you were severely beaten up for testifying about Jesus. May be your husband is beating you and not allowing you to go to church. May be you are being mocked at for your commitment to serve Lord Jesus. You are mourning for the persecutions you are experiencing. But you are not alone. Many children of God are experiencing the same. Jesus says that you are a blessed person. You are mourning. But, you are blessed. Jesus will surely comfort you and strengthen you. Those who are persecuting you cannot experience that glorious and unexplainable comfort that you are experiencing. That is the difference between you and your persecutors. Yes, the presence of Jesus! It makes all the difference. Jesus is with you, not with your persecutors. You may not understand why God is allowing you to be persecuted. But one day, in eternity, when you stand in the glorious presence of God, you will surely know.
We have meditated upon three causes which result in our mourning. There may be many other causes. But, whatever may be the root cause of your present mourning, let me remind you the promise of Jesus Christ. These words are final. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
I also want to share with you about a kind of mourning which is quite different from the above three types of mourning. Mourning can come from envy! Mourning can come from covetousness! Mourning can also come not because we repent of our sins, but because we were caught while we were sinning! We may also mourn because we are not satisfied with what God has given us! Like this there are many sinful ways in which we can mourn. This is sinful mourning. Those who mourn like this cannot find the grace of God. They are not blessed, but cursed. They will not be comforted but get into deeper sorrow. This kind of mourning leads to hell.
God cannot be deceived. He will not comfort us every time we mourn. He sees the root cause of our mourning and if He thinks that we need to be comforted, then we will be comforted. If He thinks that our mourning originated from an unacceptable cause, then no matter how much we mourn(or even how much we fast and pray!), we will not get any comfort from Heaven. Neither will our prayers be answered.
Mourning can lead us to God or take us away from God. God is full of compassion. He always wants to wipe away our tears. He wants to see us happy. In our deepest sorrows we can find His glorious presence. We have to be patient until we get comfort from above. Those who mourn can experience deeper spiritual life. They can have deeper fellowship with God, because Jesus Himself will come to comfort them. Holy Spirit will comfort them.
But, even though God is full of compassion, this doesn’t restrain Him from not comforting those who mourn without a right cause, as we have seen earlier. Right now, for what are you mourning? Does your conscience justify your mourning? Test your heart in the presence of God. If your mourning is sinful then confess it and repent before God. Don’t grieve God with sinful mourning and grumbling. Keep faith in the Good God. He is not there to torment us, but to comfort us. Pray that God gives us a heart of faith and patience. Surely God comforts those who are faithful and patient.
