Blessed Negativity - Himalayan Heights – July 21 Readings: Matthew 5:4 – Sorrowful Sinners

Matthew 5:1-12  The Beatitudes

All Scripture is God-breathed and useful, but there are some Scriptures that we can consider the Himalayan mountaintops of the Bible. In the next few months, we will be looking at a series of great texts that inspire and move us - the "Himalayan Heights" of God's Word.

Today's Reading:  Matthew 5:4

Jesus' most famous sermon took place on a mountain near the Sea of Galilee. There is enough meat packed into the three brief chapters of Matthew 5-7 to sustain years of Bible Study. The passage begins with the Beatitudes, expressions of blessing. The principles here run counter to everything people instinctively believe in this world. We want to be rich but Jesus invoked blessings on the poor in Spirit - and on and on it goes.

Again, this week, read the entire passage daily, then give special focus to the highlighted passage.

When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to teach them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the humble,

for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

11 “You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. 12 Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Through the Bible Readings: Esther 1-2, Acts 17, Psalm 85:9–13, Proverbs18:4–5

If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings. 

Devotional:  Blessed Negativity  

David was oblivious to his own sin. Something had happened to this man who had walked with God and worshiped God until one day chose to take a woman who was not his wife. To cover that sin, he arranged the death of the woman's husband. He was now an adulterous murderer. 

That did not stop him from being self-righteous. The prophet Nathan told him a story about a man who had many sheep but stole one from his neighbor, then killed the neighbor when he complained, David was incensed. Who would do such a thing? I will find him and make him pay. His righteous indignation overflowed. 

I imagine Nathan staring him down, pointing a finger in his face, and saying, "David, YOU are the man.” It all came crashing down on him. Gone was the pretense, the self-righteousness. The Spirit of God came on him like a ton of bricks.

That is when David grieved over his sin. He mourned. Psalm 51 records the sincerity of that mourning. 

In Matthew 5:4, God promised that those who mourn would be comforted. Of course, God is the balm for the wounds of life. He lifts us up when we fall, he dries our tears, and he helps us through life's hardships. Jesus, here, is talking about something different. He is talking about grieving over sin. There is a clear progression in the Beatitudes. The first spoke of being poor in Spirit - recognizing our sin and spiritual weakness. The second speaks of grieving and mourning over sin, and receiving the comfort of God over that sin. 

Those who realize their spiritual poverty mourn their sin. We do everything we can to ignore our sin. We rationalize it – it wasn’t that bad. We justify it. We compare it with others – I’m not as bad as they are. We ignore it. But none of that brings a blessing. None of that opens the door to the gracious favor of God. That comes when we face our sin and see it as God sees it, when we recognize it for the horror that it is and we repent of it.

The odd irony of this is that denying, justifying, and discounting sin prevents us from experiencing the blessing of God's forgiveness and the freedom that brings. In a desire to help and encourage people we are cursing them, leaving them in the grip of sin and preventing them from experiencing the power of God. We are only saved when we come to the place of grief and repentance over our guilt before God. Jesus died to save sinners and if you do not face that sin, grieve over it and mourn your condition, there is no salvation. But it doesn’t stop there. As we walk through the Christian life we must also face our failings, our sinfulness. When we do, we learn to depend on God, not on ourselves for the righteousness we need, the power we need, the holiness we need.

Unless we stare our sinful selves in the face and mourn over the sin that drags us down and draws us away from intimacy with God, we will not grow, we will not experience God's blessing, and we will not be comforted by his forgiveness. 

Father, show me clearly the dark places of my heart and let me see my sin as you see it, so that you bring your comfort and blessing into my life. 

Think and Pray:

Do you deny your sin, rationalize it, justify it?
Or do you admit your sin and grieve over it fully?