They Shall be Comforted

Blessed are those who mourn. They shall be comforted. Matt 5:4

We have spent the first three parts of this series painting the kind of picture that this mourning portrays. Not all mourning is 'blessed.' There is a bitter hopeless kind of mourning that scriptures warn us not to partake in. Again in summary this is the kind of mourning that is blessed: one that recognizes God's plan and intentions, these hopes cause us to be dissatisfied with the status quo and ultimately, this burden drives us to seek Him who is able.

Finally, it is time to talk about the second half of our scripture Matt 5:4 - comfort! The beatitudes are a series of attitude-reward pairs. The corresponding reward for those who mourn - who seek the face of God for souls and cities - is comfort.

2 Cor 1:5  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

We cannot walk the path Christ walked without obtaining the results He got. Jesus came to restore humanity to God. He intends to do it soul by soul and then city by city. If we bear this same burden on our heart and allow it to drive us into intercession and ministry, we would receive the same consolation He received.

For the Joy set before Him, Jesus ensured the cross and despised the shame. One fundamental difference between mourning the circumstances that wet find ourselves in or mourning the godless state of things is hope. God won't ask us to pray if He doesn't intend to answer. We pray because we know He'll hear us. We intercede for our nation because we know He will heal our land. We will never truly pray if there was no how at all.

The sufferings of the present moment are nothing compared to what will be revealed in us. We therefore, must persevere in seeking God's face because earnestly desire that manifestation of perfection and elysium as He promised. This is the comfort of those who mourn. This is the consolation of all who devote themselves to see the will of God done on earth. This is the joy of those who watch day and night.

Blessed are Those Who Mourn (3)

In my first post in this series, I attempted to define mourning. I mentioned that it wasn't sulking over personal loss but taking the burdens placed on our hearts back to God. There is nothing blessed about mourning in the way we might have understood it before now. Mourning is seeing things the way Jesus would and being filled with compassion; being consumed by the responsibility of making a difference and taking to our knees to get heaven to intervene.

In my second post, I emphasised that God made a distinction between personal loss and His own concerns clearly through the life of the priests and prophets. It is not wrong to mourn, but in comparison with the father's business, our loss is nothing compared to how the father feels about His straying sheep or stubborn and doubting population.
Today, I intend to give illustrations of people who actually demonstrated mourning as God intended in Matt 5:4. I will speak of Daniel, Samuel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jerimiah and Jesus himself.

Daniel 10:2 This verse encapsulates Daniel's 21-day warfare. The scriptures actually described it as mourning. Daniel had learnt that the captivity of Israel was meant to be only 70 years. From all indications and the disposition of Israel themselves, it didn't look like Israel had learnt the lessons that brought them into captivity. He turned to God in prayers, bearing the nation of Judah on his shoulders. This is mourning.

1 Sam 16:1 How long shall thou mourn for Samuel? Samuel was personally concerned for Saul. Though this didn't turn out fine it none the less teaches that we can take up individuals in prayer and seek the face of God to either use you or create a channel by which they will be saved. We can take up individuals in prayer. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails very much. Never underestimate what your prayers can do for a friend or a nation.

Jeremiah and Ezekiel were by far the most dramatic Prophets is scripture. Their lives were a message. Ezekiel was instructed not to mourn the loss of his wife. However, He was admonished to mourn for Israel, to be a watchman, an intercessor. Truly, our personal concerns could be overwhelming, but that is because we do not see what God sees. If we see things are they truly are, we would see that our personal issues are nothing to compare. Sometimes, the people we mourn have gone to be with the Lord and are having an eternal rest while those who remain and do not yet know God do not move us one bit.

Jesus himself mourned in Luke 19:44. He was consumed with love that a generation He came to die for did not concern themselves with eternal things. Again, in John 17 he 'mourned.' it wasn't recorded that He wept here but the content of His was completely selfless and God-centered.

Our prayers can move mountains and bring Heaven to earth. This is the kind of 'mourning' that is blessing worthy.

Blessed are Those Who Mourn (2)

Blessed are those who mourn, they shall be comforted. Matt 5:4

Mourning, like we established isn't a sorrowful disposition to our own unfavorable circumstances. It is seeing things like God will have us do and turning to him for help. It is an appropriate response to everything happening around us. We shouldn't live like we are not concerned about what's going on around. We shouldn't live like we do not care about our neighbors, our nation and our nature. The right attitude isn't to turn deaf ears to life, it is to turn over all things to God.

Severally in scripture, we see people take up such position. This was common to prophets who got a glimpse of God's perspective and were totally consumed with  passion. From Isaiah to Jeremiah, to Ezekiel and a host of others, the true meaning of mourning is demonstrated. They mourned for the condition of the nation of Israel. They took the perspective of God personally. This is similar to what we call burdens - weights God place on our heart. These are concerns raised by God Himself to us based on a relationship with Him.

The theme scripture Matt 5:4 is taken from the popular sermon on the mount. The sermon describes blessed people, not just criteria for being blessed. It showcases the lifestyle of the blessed man. None of the attributes listed had anything to do with their individual circumstances. They were all a result of a life in Christ. Such people are pure in spirit and meek. They desire and pursue righteousness. They keep their hearts guarded. They are persecuted for Christ's sake etc. Mourning as we know it doesn't fit here. Hence, we need to look beyond what we know into other examples in scripture.

God commanded High Priests not to mourn the loss of their own family members. This may sound heartless and cold but it really isn't. Sometimes God separates things, not to rule out one but to highlight the other; He separates thing not to say the other is irrelevant but that the new is superior. There is the old and the new testament. The old wasn't useless after all, it did is best and served its needs. However, the new is more potent and superior. Same is it with morning our personal losses and bearing God's burden on our heart.

The High priest was not allowed to mourn even his own parents (Lev 21:10). However, he is to symbolically bear the entire nation of Israel on his shoulder and on his heart. This isn't to say this who mourn are wrong. It is just to say that a loss here is nothing compared to a single part of God's will being violated. If truly we are consumed by the love of God and are commited to His will bring established, we ought not fold our hands while things go another way.

Blessed are those who Mourn

Blessed are those who mourn. They shall be comforted. Matt 5:4

Sometimes when the scriptures talk about mourning, it isn't so much about expressing our bitterness and sorrow. It isn't about sulking and whining and enjoying our lowest moments (moments of sobriety can be enjoyable). God doesn't intend that we are glued to our past and wallow in the guilt of everything we have done wrong. Neither does He want us to keep in memory every tragedy or disaster life has brought our way. What then does the Bible mean by mourning? What kind of mourning will attract blessings and comfort?

Just the same way we aren't satisfied with the state of things, God is even much more dissatisfied. Not with people in particular but with the faulty integration. Though, He knows the end from the  beginning, His love won't let Him ignore the moment. His beloved people choose only a tiny bit from the table He expects us to feast from; His beloved Church usurping His authority; the once beautiful garden is now a wild forest; the very ones made in His image, after just a few thousand years look nothing like Him.

There are many reactions to this reality. Some do not understand. Many just walk past. Many have a clue but cannot imagine they have a role in all these. Many are immobilized by the overwealming thought of being responsible to make a tangible difference. Many observe the chaos and become bitter or frustrated. Some of these ones end up as critics. Many withdraw and hope help will come. None of these is mourning.

Mourning is having a fair understanding of what's going on but not being overwealmed by it. Mourning is understanding that one can make a difference. Mourning is turning to the One who is able to restore to do so and negotiating on behalf of many others. Mourning is prayer. Mourning is intercession. Mourning is taking responsibility and going on the way to see things better. Mourning is building and leveraging on ones relationship with God to intervene in matters having to do with purpose and destiny. Either of individuals or communities.

All Things Are Yours

Paul noticed that the people of Corinth began to choose favorite preachers and favorite doctrines. This means that they begin to prefer particular manifestations of God. However, there is more to God than we presently know. There's more to God than our favorite preachers can relay to us.

There's absolutely no sin in having a preference. As a matter of fact we also have a particular assignment from God to fulfill. We would most likely tend to love those who peach similar messages and adopt doctrine that buttress our preferences. The problem only comes when we begin to have a feeling of superiority. The division begins when we consider one as more important than the other.

When we begin to choose sides, have preference and feel superior, we essentially miss the grace and blessings others have to offer. This means we only take a portion of the entire package God offers us. How then should we live? We should appreciate what we have and celebrate what the others possess. That's the demonstration of love in this regard. All things are  ours.

 1 Cor 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;

The reverence of the Orthodox is ours. The eloquence of the Word of Faith is ours. The foresight of the Prophetic is ours. The Authority of the Apostolic is ours. The compassion of the evangelical is ours. The large-heartedness of the pastoral is ours. All things are ours. Never let division take away what is ours.