Samples from Kathy Weckwerth’s be.attitudes book ~ a women’s 10 week Bible study
Shaping Your Heart With Godly Attitudes From Matthew 5
Table of Contents:
Introduction ~ Having Christ-like Attitudes in Your Everyday Life
Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
Blessed Are the Meek
Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst After Righteousness
Blessed Are the Merciful
Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
Blessed Are the Peacemakers
Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted
Conclusion ~ Implementing Godly Attitudes
Sample of Chapter 2~ Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
CHAPTER 2
Those Who Mourn
“What joy that the Bible tells us the great comfort that the best is yet to be. Our outlook goes beyond this world.”
Corrie Ten Boom
Be. Authentic Be. Comforted Be. Blessed
The Buzz: Last week we learned that “the poor in spirit” means those who are humble before God. We are blessed when we have an attitude of humility.
Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
When I was a little girl of three and four, my daddy would call my siblings, my mother, and me to the car when it was time to leave for Sunday morning church services.
I knew my spot. It never failed that I would sit directly in the middle of my parents in the front seat. It never dawned on me that I would be anywhere except next to my daddy. It wasn’t good enough that I was seat belted in next to him, but I had to be so close to him that I would crowd him. It felt safe there. It was comforting. It was where I wanted to be, right next to Dad.
My father was a kind and patient soul. He would say to me, “Kathleen, honey, you can’t be quite so close because Daddy needs to be able to drive the car.” I’d scoot over just a smidgen as he would start up the old Chevy and lead the way to our little blue church.
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In the moments of wondering if there was any way that someone else could understand my grief, I grew up knowing and feeling that comfort, that sense of safety, inside the arms of my earthly father. But how much greater is the love for us that our Heavenly Father has to offer?
The attitude of mourning is understandable. In order to be Christ-like, we must begin by being honest before God and allow Him to comfort us.
Whether we are mourning about what we have done, or what’s happening in our lives because of our choices, because of others’ choices, or because we live in a sin-filled, fallen world, we must mourn. We need to mourn. Mourning allows us to draw close to the side of our Heavenly Father.
Look Up: Psalm 119:136
“Tears stream down from my eyes, because they do not keep Your law.”
Look Up: Psalm 30:5b
“Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
Very often in life, I have watched people try to minimize the pain of others. I’ve questioned why people do this, and I believe it stems from these three things:
They don’t know how to bring comfort.
They don’t want to deal with the person and their problem.
They hold back because no one helps them, so they don’t want to help others.
Webster’s dictionary defines the word mourn as “to feel and show sadness because something has been lost or no longer exists.”
When Jesus is sitting amongst His disciples and the crowd, why would He tell them that blessed (happy) is the person who mourns, when the words are totally opposite?
John R. W. Stott states, “No doubt the crowds were already getting uneasy at His unconventional philosophy of life, for He was saying things which on the surface seemed absurd. Especially so to the original audience, which consisted of disgruntled Jews living in Roman occupied Palestine, looking for a Messiah who would sweep the Romans out of the land and establish a strong kingdom, ruling with ‘Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.’” (Matthew 5:4).
“Yet, Jesus is stating to His disciples and the crowds … it’s okay to mourn. ‘It’s beautiful for Me to see you grieve over your sins and I am happy to be next to you in your sadness. My blessing will be that you will be comforted, for I will bring you comfort.’”
Mourning means to feel sad and blessed means to feel happy. Christ is saying … happy is the person who feels sad, who allows themselves to mourn, because they will be comforted. Who will comfort the mourning? God will comfort us. Some of what Jesus is saying is connected to our attitude from the first beatitude, humility. When we have humility, we go to God with a repentant heart that says, “I’m so sorry … I’m grieving and mourning the fact that I have disobeyed You and gone against Your ways.”
Look Up: Matthew 4:17
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’”
Look Up: I John 2:2
“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Look Up: I John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I believe the other part of this beatitude is Jesus reminding us that there is no one, no one person on earth, who will ever totally understand or comprehend what it means to suffer as greatly as He did when He died on the cross for our sins.
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STEP FOUR: Be. encouraging to others when they are experiencing grief
Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”
Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Galatians 6:14, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are those who humble themselves before God, pour out their hearts and souls, and mourn for their sins. Blessed are those who seek God when they hurt and when they need help. Blessed are those who snuggle up next to their Heavenly Daddy, feel comfort and sense safety in the arms of God their Father.
Questions:
Do you go directly to God when you are experiencing sorrow and grief or try to deal with it yourself?
Do you believe that God can and will provide comfort for you when you are at a deep level of hurting?
What do you do to help those around you who are hurting and experiencing grief?
What are some ways that help you walk through grief?
Look Up:
Psalm 23:4
Psalm 28:6-7
Isaiah 57:15
Romans 8:26-28
Songs:
Hymn – “In the Garden”
Contemporary -”Wonderful, Merciful Savior” (Rodger & Wyse)