Joy in the Mourning - (Matthew 5:4)

Scripture

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." 

Matthew 5:4

Take Aways

• The question is, what is being mourned? I think you have to go back to the previous verse for the answer. If a good interpretation of 5:3 could be, "Fortunate are those who are begging for breath, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs," then perhaps this indicates what is being mourned.
• Conversion requires repentance, not just an acknowledgment that God exists. It is a change of heart, a change of life, not just a desire to be fixed or healed. Those who are desperate for a change are most apt to truly embrace it. It is not enough just to want change, you must embrace it. This, in my opinion, is where the mourning comes in. 
• So what exactly are we mourning? I am not sure, but I have some thoughts. First, perhaps we are mourning the time we wasted in our previous way of life. Not that I believe that Jesus would promote the idea of living in past regret, but I think a certain amount of recognition of past mistakes can be a healthy thing, but after a period of mourning, we need to put this behind.
• Perhaps we are also mourning the things we surrender. Not the junk that caused us to suffer, but other things. Maybe our conversion has cost us family, friends, a job, or more. Jesus told us that these things could occur. 
• Some who embrace Jesus do so at a high cost. Surely such a price would cause grief, sadness, and mourning. Yet in their mourning, there is comfort, even joy. They have found a treasure, and have realized that though it cost them all they have, it is worth it. (Matthew 13:44) 
• One other thought, perhaps the mourning He speaks of includes the journey to finding salvation. Imagine the grief of an alcoholic or drug addict who has lost family, friends, job, health, and maybe more and the knowledge that on the path that they are on the only way they will find relief is when die. (Gasping for breath.) Or imagine the grief of someone who has lived in bitterness and anger, and does not know a moment of peace or joy, perhaps because they have never heard or understood the gospel. 

APPLICATION

• My mind goes to the story of the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:11-32) Did he not mourn what his decisions had cost him? He had lost family, friends, finances, and was reduced to eating the pig's leftovers. Finally, in his grief, he decided to return to his father and beg forgiveness, to accept the role of a servant. Now imagine his comfort, his joy, when his father ran to him and embraced him.
• Is there mourning in me? If not, is it because I have not hit the bottom yet? Am I still fighting against, yet clinging to the very things that drag me down? Do I have farther to go before I completely turn to Jesus? Am I my own worst enemy? 
• He will embrace me, but I have to  turn my back on my desires, on the things that hold me back, and start walking to Him.
• Following Jesus comes at a cost! (Luke 9:62) Anyone who tells you differently or promises something else is lying. There is a reason to mourn. But I cannot be stuck in my own grief, because joy comes in the mourning.

PRAYER

Psalm 51:10-12

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

    and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence,

    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Bonus

I find the scene where the son returns, dirty and ashamed, and the father runs to him especially compelling. I especially appreciate when the son tells the father he is not worthy to wear his father's name. The son was broken. He came to his father with the mindset of hoping just to be accepted as a servant. Yet the father embraces him. That is the joy, the comfort that comes only in the mourning.