When we pause, and seek God in simple things, He blesses us with boundless hope.
Why is it so easy to talk around a campfire?
President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave radio addresses to the nation that came to be known as “fireside chats.” CBS reporter, Harry Butcher, came up with the name in a press release on May 7, 1933, just prior to one of FDR’s radio addresses to the people. The name stuck, and it’s easy to understand why.
Who doesn’t love conversation by a campfire? The flickering light and radiating heat on a chilly evening invite people to relax and engage in small talk. Add something to snack on, like smores, popcorn, or a warm beverage, and those gathered are “in the moment.”
In my experience, people sometimes open up, one-on-one, and the conversation can wander to the heartaches plaguing them. Once, by a campfire, someone opened up to me that she felt crushed by the betrayal and infidelity of her spouse, and the experience caused her to believe men had no feelings of true love and loyalty, even though she longed to have a family of her own.
She revealed to me that something I had said to her, a year before, changed her thoughts about men and marriage relationships, showed her that men have hurt feelings too, and sometimes men suffer heartbreak. Since, she had grown to believe a sound marriage relationship was possible. All the glory belongs to God.
I’ve learned I don’t want to hide anything in prayer with the Lord, not that it’s possible to do so. His Word doesn’t mince terms on this truth.
“Are five sparrows not sold for two assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God” (Luke 12:6, (NASB.)
In my last post (see 5-26-2022), I discussed Matthew 5:3, where Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and I’m continuing here with Matthew 5:4, where Jesus tells his disciples, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (NASB.) Jesus not only wants His follower to freely and humbly acknowledge our sins to the Father, but we must feel them, have them pierce our hearts so that we want God to change us, help us, to be more obedient.
My reading tells me, the “blessing” meant here is “an enviable state of happiness to be desired.” How can mourning lead to happiness? This seems counterintuitive. I have discovered that an open, honest recognition of my failures, sins, guilt, unworthiness and total helplessness before my Heavenly Father, naming my failures specifically, creates a wonderful bridge to His mercy, grace and love. But “mourn” my sins? Jesus intends that this characteristic grow in all His followers. I believe “mourning” our sin relates to the nature of our prayers with God.
A few weeks ago, my pastor, John, gave a sermon on I Thessalonians 5:16-18, which reads, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
Pastor John suggested five everyday opportunities to pray: (1) when all’s well; (2) when troubled times come, we can find something to be thankful for; (3) while waiting, use the time to pray; (4) make a habit to pray during daily chores; (5) when we worry, we can catch ourselves, and instead thank God for His presence in our lives. Wow! What a useful list.
My wife, Candace, and I were talking about prayer. She said something that gave me pause: we often just bring the “big stuff” before God, and neglect to talk to Him about the everyday things in our lives because we think they’re not important enough to bring before our Creator. I know I’ve been guilty of this.
He wants to hear it all, for us to have an awareness of His presence in every detail of our days. Small things make up most of our lives, but scripture tells us not to look down on small things.
For instance, John 6:9 reads, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” (ESV) Yet, Jesus fed thousands of people with one boy’s lunch. There’s an old hymn by Kittie Suffield, titled, “Little is much when God is in it.” There’s so much wisdom in this simple, old song.
I read a devotional concerning the 66 books of the Bible, encouraging memorization of scripture. The Holy Spirit brings these scriptures to mind, and guide and grow us, no matter what we’re facing. Makes sense, as the Spirit inspired the writing of the scriptures, so He will use them to speak to us. The scripture refers to our Savior as the “Word.”
This led me to a new scripture project: select a portion of scripture to memorize from each book of the Bible. This is a doable, fun project, that will take me through the entire Bible.
So, what does a fireside chat, and unceasing prayers in everyday things, and memorization of scripture have to do with “mourning?” There are times when I regret or feel very sad about my failures before God, but I can’t say I always “mourn,” or experience a deep and piercing grief.
Still, I’ve experienced deep mourning in my life. The first time I lost someone very close to me, my dad, I thought my heart had been ripped in two. The pain was paralyzing. I was lost. This is the kind of mourning Jesus was speaking about in Matthew 5:4: deep, intense grieving like the loss of a dear loved one. Our Lord said this kind of mourning will characterize all those who follow Him, not perfectly in this life, but growing.
God promises He will provide for this.
“I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart” (Ezekiel 36:26, GNT.)
And also in Hebrews:
“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need” (Hebrews 4:15-16, NASB.)
I have learned to lean on the Spirit to guide me, and give me strength over sin. The Spirit inspired the Word, so I believe when I commit scripture to memory, the Spirit will use it to guide me and change my heart. The Bible describes the Word as a “sword.”
“And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17, NASB.)
The word for “sword” used in this verse is a machaira, which is a short saber for close fighting. The term for “word” used is rhema, “a brief writing,” which is like a verse of scripture, rather than the entire Bible. The idea I get is believers are meant to arm themselves with verses to help in times of close in-fighting when faced with temptations and sin.
I want to get to true blessedness (happiness) as Jesus meant it: the spiritual prosperity that only comes through a transparent, right relationship with God. I want to yield to the Spirit, and grow in my willingness to become “poor in spirit” and “mourn,” over the ways I fall short, to have an honest and humble relationship with God.
I’m a simple man, so I distill “mourning” to a simple picture: when I humbly admit my failures to God, He sits across the campfire and listens intently; when I weep over my sins, He sits beside me, reaches His loving arm around my shoulder, and weeps with me, offering His mercy and grace.
“For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death” (2 Corinthians 7:10, NLT.)
Selah