Sweet Sorrow

Matthew 5:4 – Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Sorrow and mourning are an active response to a pain or hurt.  The loss of a loved one brings a lot of sorrow.  Regret over a reckless act can cause mourning.  A fractured relationship, even if a positive thing, can bring tears.  These are negative events that cause us to hurt.  Why does Jesus say that I should be glad when I mourn?

This mourning comes after the realization that I am poor in spirit.  When I realize that I have nothing on my résumé that recommends me to God, and that the acts of my nothingness have hurt Christ, myself, and others, I can only have sorrow for them.  It is this sorrow that produces a deep repentance in my life.  Not the repentance that is sad that I was caught, but the repentance that is sad for the effects on Christ and myself.

2 Corinthians 7:9,10 – Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. (10) – For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Therefore, when I am pained with my course of action apart from Christ, I should be glad because I am made aware that God is working in my life.  He is not giving up on me.  Instead, He is giving me a new heart that I did not have before, one that has a clearer view of right and wrong; one that has a sense of how selfishness has affected my life.  True repentance is a gift that God gives to me when he is working in my life.

Acts 5:31 – Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

While we may sorrow over the sources of pain in our lives we may be glad that God sees us as valuable enough to still put divine effort into.  Also, we should not let this sorrow drive us from Christ with a sense of shame, for that is not its purpose.  Instead, realize that Christ is drawing you to himself.  Though we are aware of our damages, sins, and their consequences, Jesus is the source of healing.  We can take comfort that God has not given up on us, but, on the contrary, is purposefully putting effort into us.  He wants to give us a new heart.  In this way it is such sweet sorrow.

Ezekiel 36:26 – I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

There will come a time when there will not be any more hurts, pains, and wounds, self-inflicted or not.  Christ will come to take us to His heavenly kingdom.  He will acknowledge our situational pains and the pains of our sinfulness.  But they will all be in our past, and God himself will heal the wounds and right the wrongs.  Then we will be able to live in a world where nothing hurts us, and nothing will cause a reaction of sorrow, not even of sweet sorrow.

Revelation 21:4 – And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Yet for today, enjoy your sweet sorrow.

Have a Poor Day Today

Matthew 5:3 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

My natural position as a human being is to present myself in the most possible light. I was taught in school to spin myself in the best ways on my résumé. We think as human beings about how to move ourselves forward in life, how to attain our goals, and how to make people think better of us. I’m not saying that at some point these things might not be necessary, but without a change, we inherently approach life in a selfish manner. Christ’s words provide a shock to the expected order.

I have to admit my helplessness and inability to provide the ultimate answer for myself. I have to admit that I can’t solve my ultimate sin and selfishness problem. I have to admit that the God of the Bible has the answers. It is this realization, this humility that God is looking for: God I am bankrupt without you.

Isaiah 66:2 – For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,” says the LORD. ” But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.

There are no spiritual virtues that I source within myself. Not faith (Rom 12:3), not grace (1 Cor 15:10), not wisdom or intelligence (Prov 2:6), not natural ability (Dan 1:17), etc.

James 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Facing this realization is the important thing. In my own life I’ve learned to pray like an alcoholic. That is, to pray admitting my problems and inabilities to solve them myself. “God, you have to help me, because there’s no way out of this sin on my own.” God responds to this change of heart immediately and with power. Though I may be weak and totally unable to conquer your problems, God will enable me to stand and to endure. “A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench” (Isa 42:3). “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10).

“When we have a realization of our weakness, we learn to depend upon a power not inherent.” {Desire of Ages 493.3}

“There is a remedy for the sin-sick soul. That remedy is in Jesus. Precious Saviour! His grace is sufficient for the weakest; and the strongest must also have His grace or perish.” {Testimonies vol. 1 158.1}

I hope you have a poor day today. Find your strength in the true God. For then the kingdom of heaven will be yours.

Hunger and Thirst

Matthew 5:6 – Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Why should I be happy when I hunger and thirst for righteous? It is because of hope. When I feel the great need for righteousness, and pursue it like I do a meal when I have missed one or two, I will find an end to that hunger. Righteousness will be realized, and closeness with God will be attained.

John 6:27 – Labor for the food that lasts forever that we get from Jesus.
Psalm 42:1,2 – As the deer longs for water, so I should long for God.
Psalm 63:1,2 – My soul longs for God like a traveler in a desert. A good place to look for God is in the sanctuary.
Psalm 107:9 – The great, personal God satisfies and fills the longing soul.
Isaiah 44:3 – God satisfies the thirsty, but more than satisfies, He provides floods of provisions!

Another verse that I find pertinent is one I memorized while at Mission College. What should I find more important if I am running late: eating breakfast or partaking of the word of God?

Job 23:12 – Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

This seeking is important, because the finding and satisfying will not be guaranteed forever. A famine is coming for the word of the Lord (Amos 8:11-13). A search for the phrase “seek me” is enlightening. Jeremiah 29:13 promises a positive conclusion to a deep longing. Yet, when wisdom (God personified) is disregarded when it gives advice (there is a way that seems right to a man, but it ends in death), there is an end to the probation, so to speak (Proverbs 1:28). Also, Isaiah 58:2 (and on) talks about those who like pursuing the formalities of religion, but resist the practical applications of it. Those individuals will not find God, nor find their religion respected.

God is looking for a heart religion and a heart longing.

Yet that purity of motive and longing is not native to me. My heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). How do I find the solution to this conundrum?

Romans 5:6-8 – For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.(7) For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. (8) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John 12:32 – And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Psalms 37:4 – Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

I am not starting from nothing. God loved me first, and Christ died for me, and He exerts a drawing power on us all. When I respond to the drawing, Christ gives me new desires in two ways: first I am given new desires; the old ones are replaced. Then, those new desires are fulfilled in God’s timing. One of those new desires is a greater longing for righteousness.

God wants to establish you in an ever-widening positive cycle. Respond to his drawing to day with a longing for his righteousness. He will help to build that desire, and is waiting to pour out floods of blessings into your life.

I hope you have a hungry day today.