What is to be blessed ?

Here are some dictionary definitions:

Highly favoured or fortunate
Enjoying the bliss of heaven
Characterized by happiness and good fortune
Part 1
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”—Matthew 5:4.
The mourning here brought to view is true heart sorrow for sin.
Jesus says, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto
Me.” John 12:32 . And as one is drawn to behold Jesus uplifted on the
cross, as one starts having a close relationship with Christ, he (the Christian) discerns the sinfulness of humanity. It appears as if all
along his vision was blurred and now, he has regained his full sight and starts seeing things as they really are. He sees that it was his
sin which scourged and crucified the Lord of glory. He sees that, while he has been loved with unspeakable tenderness by Jesus, his
life has been a continual scene of ingratitude and rebellion.
The more that he (the Christian) draws closer to Christ, he starts seeing that he has forsaken his best Friend and abused heaven’s
most precious gift. He has crucified to himself the Son of God afresh and pierced anew that bleeding and stricken heart. He is
separated from God by a gulf of sin that is broad and black and deep. All this causes the Christian to mourn in brokenness of heart.
Such mourning “shall be comforted.” God reveals to us our guilt
that we may flee to Christ, and through Him be set free from the
bondage of sin, and rejoice in the liberty of the sons of God. God doesn’t take us through this painful process so that we feel
discouraged at the end and get to a point where we say : “ My case is hopeless so let me continue in sin zvekunamata ndazvitadza
.”God does this so that we realise that we need Him every hour,
If you feel yourself to be the greatest sinner, Christ is just what you need, the greatest Saviour. Lift up your head and look away from yourself, away from your
sin, to the uplifted Saviour;
away from the poisonous, venomous bite of sin to the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.

I don’t know zvangu but I think this experience is what led Annie Hawks to write this hymn :
1. I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
no tender voice like thine can peace afford.
Refrain:
I need thee, O I need thee;
every hour I need thee;
O bless me now, my Savior , I come to thee.

2. I need thee every hour; stay thou nearby;

temptations lose their power when thou art nigh.
(Refrain)

3. I need thee every hour, in joy or pain;

come quickly and abide, or life is vain.
(Refrain)

4. I need thee every hour; teach me thy will;

and thy rich promises in me fulfill .
(Refrain)

5. I need thee every hour, most Holy One;

O make me thine indeed, thou blessed Son.
(Refrain)
Part 2
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it
struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as
it could and it could go no farther.

Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly
then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to
support the body which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was
able to fly.

What this man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to
get through the tiny opening were nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for
flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If nature allowed us to go through your life without any obstacles, it would
cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly….
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”—Matthew 5:4.

The Saviour’s words in Matthew 5:4 have a message of comfort to those also who are suffering affliction
or bereavement. When He permits trials and afflictions, it is “for our prof i t, that we might be partakers of
His holiness.” Hebrews 12:10 . If received in faith, the trial that seems so bitter and hard to bear will
prove a blessing. The cruel blow that blights the joys of earth will be the means of turning our eyes to
heaven. How many there are who would never have known Jesus had not sorrow led them to seek
comfort in Him!
The trials of life are God’s workmen, to remove the impurities
and roughness from our character. Their hewing, squaring, and
chiseling , their burnishing and polishing, is a painful process; it is
hard to be pressed down to the grinding wheel. But the stone is
brought forth prepared to fll its place in the heavenly temple. Upon
no useless material does the Master bestow such careful, thorough
work. Only His precious stones are polished after the similitude of a
palace.
James 1:2-3 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing [this,] that the
trying of your faith worketh patience (produces steadfastness).
Part 3
Exd 33:4
] Oh that thou, a nation favored above every other, hadst known the time of thy visitation, and the things that belong unto thy peace! I
have stayed the angel of justice, I have called thee to repentance, but in vain. It is not merely servants, delegates, and prophets, whom
thou hast refused and rejected, but the Holy One of Israel, thy Redeemer. If thou art destroyed, thou alone art responsible. ‘Ye will not
come to me, that ye might have life.’” [John 5:40.]

The Majesty of Heaven in tears! the Son of the inf i nite God troubled in spirit, bowed down with anguish!
The scene f i lled all Heaven with wonder. That scene reveals to us the exceeding sinfulness of sin
Paste john 3:19
Christ wept coz mankind was clinging on to sin and refusing His offer of salvation…even up to this day
Christ still weeps when He sees us committing the same sins that led to the destruction of Jerusalem.
Blessed are they also who weep with Jesus in sympathy with the
world’s sorrow and in sorrow for its sin. In such mourning there
is intermingled no thought of self. Jesus was the Man of Sorrows,
enduring heart anguish such as no language can portray. His spirit
was torn and bruised by the transgressions of men. He toiled with
self-consuming zeal to relieve the wants and woes of humanity, and
His heart was heavy with sorrow as He saw multitudes refuse to
come to Him that they might have life. All who are followers of
Christ will share in this experience. As they partake of His love they
will enter into His travail for the saving of the lost. They share in the
sufferings of Christ, and they will share also in the glory that shall be revealed .
In this beatitude Christ was saying, ‘ Blessed are those who will not enjoy the sins being committed in the
world or envy sinners, blessed are those who will weep and mourn in prayer…praying for people to
repent and turn from wicked ways
Ezekiel 9