Blessed are You Who Weep Now

 Luke 6:20-21 NASB

“And He raised His eyes toward His disciples and began saying, ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.’” 

When we read all the teachings of Jesus which are recorded for us in the Bible, and when we read the New Testament, as a whole, it helps us to correctly handle the word of truth. It helps us to not misinterpret Scriptures, but to interpret them based on what we know overall of Jesus’ messages.

So, the Lord Jesus is not saying here that those who are physically poor, i.e., lacking in wealth and earthly goods, that they have the kingdom of heaven as their possession. That is not consistent with everything else he taught. So, then we look at other Scriptures to help us understand.

In Matthew 5 it says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Now this one gives us more information which helps us to arrive at the correct meaning. This is speaking of those who humble themselves before God in submission to him and in repentance.

The same applies to the next sentence where it says, “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied.” I don’t believe this is speaking about physical hunger. For in Matthew 5 it says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

So, this is really talking about us craving and desiring and seeking after the righteousness of God in our lives, but not just positional righteousness because of what Jesus did for us on that cross, which we receive by faith, but understanding that Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness (1 Pet 2:24; Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).

The last one is a little more challenging to understand, for it says, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” In Matthew 5 it says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Biblically, I see two ways this can be interpreted.

The first has to do with repentance. When we come to the Lord in repentance we mourn (grieve, weep) over our sins, but not with a worldly sorrow that goes nowhere, and nothing changes, but with a godly sorrow which leads to true change of heart and mind and behavior.

The second way I believe we can be encouraged by this is that, for those of us who are in Christ, by faith in him, we will have sorrows in this life, some of us more than others, and the Lord is our comforter, especially during times when we are being persecuted and mistreated for the sake of the name of Jesus and for the sake of the gospel of our salvation.

We are blessed. We are favored. We receive God’s grace into our lives in its various forms. First we are delivered out of our slavery to sin and we are given new lives in Jesus to be lived to his righteousness in the power of God’s Spirit. And then we are strengthened and empowered of God’s Spirit to live godly and holy lives, pleasing to God.

Then the Lord teaches us, and he counsels us in the way that we should go, and he helps us, and strengthens us when we are weak, and he encourages us when we are being attacked without cause, and he uses us for his glory, perhaps when not many humans had any use for us at all.

Luke 6:22-23 NASB

“Blessed are you when the people hate you, and when they exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and jump for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used to treat the prophets the same way.”

 

I have faced plenty of this in my life. But I recall that when I was still fairly young that the Lord used the call of Jeremiah in my life to let me know how he intended to use me. And he warned me then that if I gave in to the fear of man, which I did, at times, that he would terrify me before them, which he did many times until I learned to stand strong no matter what.

I am not saying that I haven’t faced this kind of treatment since then, for I have, but that the Lord allowed many such incidences in my life over many years because he was making me strong in the Lord so that I would say what he gave me to say, and so that I would no longer back down in fear.

I had to learn this lesson, and I am still learning it, to some degree, that being hated for the cause of Christ, and being rejected and mistreated because I follow the Lord with my life, is not something to fear or to shy away from, but that I am to keep going on in the strength of the Lord doing what he has called me to do, and saying what he leads me to say.

And I have nothing to be ashamed of, but I am to consider myself to be blessed (favored, happy in Jesus). For I am receiving much benefit spiritually in my life for having gone through what I’ve gone through.

Today I am feeling very emotionally weak. Yesterday, too. I have cried on and off for the past 24 hours, probably. I am a woman, and I still go through cycles, so I am certain this will pass soon. But still, it is hard to have my emotions be so weak. So, I am going on in the strength of the Lord right now. And I hope that the tears will soon disappear.

But the Lord is encouraging me right now with the following song, and I’ve been spending much time in prayer, praying my emotions through before God, and he is comforting me with his love. And he is teaching me much through this passage of Scripture about rejoicing in him and not letting my trials get the best of me. We just have to keep our eyes on Jesus.

I Will Lift My Eyes  

An Original Work / December 12, 2012

Based off Psalms 121-125

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not sleep.

Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

I give thanks to Him.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n. 

Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with Christ.

Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n; 

My home, now in heav’n. 

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we need.

Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend, indeed!

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

I can count on Him.

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