Beat the Heat
A Good Mourn

Scripture: Matthew 5:4

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

He was the most powerful man in the world at the time. He had earned all the creature comforts he was enjoying. As a young teenage boy, he had worked hard for his father. He wasn’t afraid of hard work or difficult challenges in life. He had learned about a God who would strengthen and protect him. As a shepherd boy, facing wild animal attacks on the Palestinian hillsides, he had trusted God to help him fight all battles. He stood alone in the face of a man ten times his size who was dressed in full armor. Yet, once again, he put his full trust in God and God came through as He had done so many times before!

David, the shepherd boy, grew into a powerful king – stronger than all the other kings and nations around him. His years of depending on God had earned him the reputation of having a heart that was “one” with God. Yet, in a moment of weakness, he fell into a terrible sin and a cover up that surprised and shocked everyone who knew this great man of God. Would this be the end of his life with God? Would God disown him? Would David go away in shame, never to be heard of again?

The answer to all of those questions is a resounding “no.” Why? Because David fell before God and mourned! Tomorrow we will look at his “mourning” in detail. Today, please see the importance of this deeply-felt sorrow for sin. Jesus pronounced it as “blessed of God!” For anyone who feels this deep sense of sorrow for their moral failure, God gives them His full attention and His full forgiveness.

Father, open my eyes to any and all actions or attitudes of mine that grieve you. I will grieve over them as well! In Jesus’ name, amen.