“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4 (ESV)
What is Jesus referring to when He says, “Blessed are those who mourn”? Some think it is for those who are mourning a loss of a loved one. We can say for sure that our Lord, our God, will definitely comfort them. Most will agree that Jesus is referring to those who mourn over their sin. I have to agree with the commentary on this, for it fits the text and the whole concept of the beatitudes. It makes complete sense that we would be blessed and comforted when we mourn over our sin, for in our state of mourning we are repenting of this sin.
“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10, ESV)
Remember our conversation about being “poor in spirit”? When we are poor in spirit, we put ourselves second. When we put ourselves second, we are honest about our sins, and truly in our hearts want to turn from them. This is the process of mourning over your sin. By mourning and repenting (turning from this sin) Jesus is there to comfort you, and He will raise you up. He will help you overcome.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV)
This concept of mourning over our sins goes against much of the way our society lives today. If we do something wrong, especially for men, the world teaches us that the best thing to do is to just bury it and move on. Pretend like it never happened. I personally lived my life like this for many years before I truly gave my life to Christ. All it did was give me a lot of resentment, anger, disappointment, and shame to carry around as baggage.
Jesus wants your baggage. Stop lugging it around with you. Lay it at His feet, stop trying to do it all on your own, stop trying to prove yourself to everyone including God. He wants honesty. He wants you to lay it at His feet and mourn so He can enter your heart and comfort you.
Take time today, take time every day, to mourn over your sins. Cry out to God, be honest and turn from it (every one of us has a sin in our life we could turn from, (Romans 3:23). Let His Holy Spirit comfort you, guide you, strengthen you, and lift you up. Let His Holy Spirit provide rest for you, as you soak in His presence. Let Him teach you on how to turn from this sin. Let Him work within your life, as you truly live second to Him. Let God transform how you see things, and how you think about things; all of this is possible when we put ourselves second, and truly mourn, and repent from our sins.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2, KJV)
God, Search my heart. Show me my sin. I want to mourn the things I do that break Your heart. Show me and give me a heart of repentance. Amen
Questions: Do you mourn over your sins? Do you ask forgiveness, or do you truly repent from your sins?
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