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73. Blessed Are The Sorrowful


Matthew 5:4, Luke 6:21, Psalm 126
Key Verse:  Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.  He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him. 
Psalm 126:5-6

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”  "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.”  Why do we mourn?  Why do we grieve?  David asked, "Why are you downcast, O my soul?”  We are disturbed because our world is broken.  All is not as it should be.  Yet, in this blessing, Jesus doesn't promise Himself, or a kingdom, instead, He reminds us that our situation is temporary.  We will laugh again.  We will be comforted, though now, we are hurting very badly. 

There once was a king who gave his wise man the task of finding a saying that could be applied in all situations.  What the wise man eventually came up with is the phrase, "This too shall pass.”  This can be a comfort to those who now grieve, but it is also a reminder for those who seem on top of the world, that life is fragile.  You never know what tomorrow will bring. 

Yet, we need to remember that when we mourn, God does not turn His back.  He longs to be our comfort.  Over and over, throughout the Psalms we are reminded that God is our refuge and help in trouble.  He collects our tears and keeps track of them in His ledger.  (Ps.  56:8) Our grief is that precious to Him. 

What He wants us to be assured of is that if we are in Him, we will experience joy again, if not here, then in eternity with Him.  He is assuring us that our grief is temporary and only for this world, but joy will come in the morning.  When it does come, it is then our turn to comfort others with the comfort by which we have been comforted, (2 Cor. 1:3-4) so that we too can bless others with the love of Christ by which we have been blessed. 

In Celebrate Recovery, the second beatitude pints to the second principle of recovery: "Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him and that He has the power to help me recover." 
          “Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 TEV, NIV

Hymn: "For Those Tears”

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