Today is the first day of fall and Sunnyvale weather is happy to oblige with cool days and colder nights…even a little rain! There is a false assumption that Californians don’t experience all four seasons. I for one happily enjoy the changes in my regular Starbucks beverage from this Summer’s strawberries and cream frappuccino to Fall’s pumpkin spice latte, Winter’s peppermint mocha and Spring’s passion iced tea. Even my wardrobe changes drastically from flip-flops to closed toed shoes, short sleeves to sweaters. I even turn the heater on in my car. We may not have snow in northern California but we drive up to the mountains to enjoy it, and there are scattered trees down a main street here whose leaves change color and even fall off in the winter. California seasons are not as extreme as some places but I appreciate each of them and fall happens to be my favorite.

Yesterday we continued our discussion of the beatitudes in our high school Bible study. Last night we focused on Matthew5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” I always thought this verse was talking about people who mourned the loss of a family member or loved one or sorrowed in trials and tribulations. But what I learned through this study was that to “mourn” in this verse is referring to sorrow over sin. Godly sorrow produces repentance, but worldly sorrow leads to death. Godly sorrow produces repentance which grants forgiveness and insights change. I even told my girls that “to mourn”=”to repent”=”growth.” When I weep over my sin, acknowledging that I have set myself against a holy God, bringing dishonor to His name, then I will confess sincerely and turn from this sin toward righteousness in Christ. This process is a lifestyle, not a one time deal. Every day we should be on our knees before the Lord acknowledging our sins before Him, confessing them, seeking forgiveness and taking the necessary steps toward bearing fruits of change. We will never grow if we never face our sin. A believer will mourn over sin because they see it for what it is, against God. The more broken we are over our sin, the more comfort God grants us in forgiveness, mercy and strength to change.

We talked about how it is easy to overlook some sins or dismissively call them something else such as “mistakes” or “bad habits.” Some of the excuses we make for our sins are, “I am only human”; “Nobody’s perfect”; “What I did wasn’t that bad compared to…”and “I’m working on it.” These excuses trap us into a shallow stand-still. Without forcing myself to face my sin and be rid of it, I will always stay the same, stunted in growth and unable to find fulfillment or comfort. There is no comfort where there is sin. I liked how Bobby said, “If you are living in some kind of sin, I hope that you do not feel okay with yourself. I hope that you feel terrible and broken down about it. This is what needs to happen in order to put that sin behind you and press on towards righteousness.” Our society gravitates toward a feel-good message where sin is not mentioned and the need for change minimized. We are told, “Just be yourself, and try your best, that’s all God wants from you.” We might be happy just the way that we are, but God is not. Proverbs 21:2 says, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes; But the Lord weighs the heart.” God is perfect and cannot tolerate sin. He wants us to become more and more like His Son. The time we will probably grow the most in our walk with the Lord is during and after a time we are most broken over our sin.

Those who mourn are comforted because they are those who repent. There is great comfort and freedom in forgiveness and assurance of salvation. If we do not confess sin we will waste away under the burden of it’s weight. A great example of mourning being comforted can be found in David’s words in Psalm 32:1-5: