THE WAY UP IS DOWN
Susan Murray
Today’s Scripture: “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4, NLT
Theme: God can turn mourning into joy by the power of His Spirit, for those who lean on Him.
GRIEF
Grief, a most difficult and painful emotion, occurs when we lose something that we dearly love. Mourning, the result of grief, can’t be helped. It comes just like the earth becomes wet when it rains. The greater the love, the greater the mourning. We mourn the loss of anything or anyone we love. Grief and mourning are unavoidable for those who love in a fallen broken world.
Every area of life became affected by this brokenness when Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God. Their consequence was being thrown out of a lush garden where life was blessed into a harsh environment where food had to be cultivated among invasive weeds and rocks. In the Old Testament when the Israelites, God’s chosen people, continued to reject Him despite warnings, He eventually disciplined them. Exiled just like Adam and Eve out of the blessed promised land into a harsh foreign land.
God takes no delight in suffering then or now but is grieved because He loves us. Sin disconnects us from God, and He longs to restore. He invites us to reconnect with Him right in the middle of grief and difficulty. Whether we are suffering the consequences of our own sin, the pain caused by the sin of others, or grief caused by living in a sinful broken world that includes natural disasters, disease and death.
COMFORT
God longs to comfort and restore us in our grief, no matter the cause, if we will admit our need to Him. He invites us into true repentance which includes mourning over sins and loss. David groans because of his sin (Psalms 31:9-10) and gives us a good example of how to repent in Psalms 51. David agrees with God that he is guilty, makes no excuses and never complains about the consequences. He expresses his desire for God to cleanse him of his sin, not to be cast out of God’s presence, and to restore the joy of his salvation (Psalm 51:11- 12).
Acknowledging our need for grace lifts us up out of guilt into comfort for all our sorrows. Why is that? Because through the power of grace alone, we have shifted the hope of our hearts from self and this world to Jesus and the next (1Thessalonians 4:13-14).
GRACE
Grace is possible only because Jesus humbled Himself, leaving the comfort of heaven taking on human form, becoming “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3, ESV). “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4, ESV) on the cross. Just as God fulfilled His promise to bring His chosen people out of exile back to Israel, He will keep his promise of eternity with Him, where “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”Revelation 21:4 ESV
Make It Personal: Do you have tears today? Are you bitter at others or God? Do you feel guilty? To the degree that you admit your need, you will experience the blessing of comfort in Christ. I invite you to join us at Celebrate Recovery on Tuesday nights at 6pm (including light supper and childcare) where together we share our grief and find comfort in Jesus. Life change can happen when we lean on God’s grace where our mourning leads to blessing!
Pray: Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next Amen.
Listen: Be Alright by Evan Cross.
Read: Lamentations 3:19-33; I Thessalonians 4:13-14; Psalms 23:4; Psalms 126:5
Weekly Memory Verse: “One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, 2 and he began to teach them.” Matthew 5:1, ESV