Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Matthew 5:4 - Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

After Jesus says that we will be blessed if we are poor in spirit or blessed when we realize how hopeless we are without Him.  He tells us another way the be blessed:

When you understand what Jesus is saying here you can see why it’s next on the list.  He’s saying – When you finally realize that you’re spiritually broke and that God is your only hope then your sin breaks your heart and you mourn.

So, here’s a question for you.  How long has it been since you mourned because of the sin in your life?  When your sin becomes repulsive to you and you turn from it – that’s when God promises to comfort you

The Bible calls this Godly sorrow. It’s the kind of deep sorrow that David had because of his sin.  He expresses his sorrow to God in the 51^st Psalm as an example to us all.

Psalm 51:1-4 - ¹ Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. ² Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. ³ For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. ⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

This is such a great example of the kind of sorrow that God looks for because David doesn’t try to minimize his sin.  He doesn’t try to justify his sin. Instead he owns it. He doesn’t make excuses because God knows the truth anyway.

So, Jesus is saying to us that if you want to be blessed then you need to be honest about your mistakes. You cannot receive the forgiveness that sets you free and the comfort that only He can give you until you get this right.

God Bless,

Tim