The nightmare, the attacks will happen, but He will see us through them if we trust and rely on Him.”
                    –Henry McLaughlin  (Journey to Riverbend)

       “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.”
                    –Jeremiah 17:7 (NKJV)
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When I taught my apologetics classes, I always wrote on the board the first day of school three character traits.  These remained throughout the year and were often referred to during the year.  It might be: ENDURANCE–HONOR–ATTITUDE.  Or this:  INTENSITY–HONOR–FORTITUDE.  Always honor was in the middle.  Without personal honor we are nothing.  Look at what is happening in our cities–it is because there is a lack of honor.  Honor is necessary for a person, a society, a nation to survive and act within a moral boundary.  Those rioting are mocking honor and want to live by anarchy which has no honor or laws at all.  I was then thinking one morning, I do that once in a while and this came to my mind for Christians:

          TRUSTING—-THANKING—-PRAISING

     The Oxford Dictionary states that “trusting” means “showing or tending to have a belief in a person’s honesty or sincerity.”  Therefore as we go through this life we place our trust in the character of God.  We believe in His Word, the foundations of our lives are in this trust.  He is the God who is there; He is the God who is faithful and true and we place our complete trust in this.  Great is His faithfulness, great are His mercies.  We can trust Him!
     Second is “thanking.”  I wrote last week about the need to be thankful.  We cannot, as believers, go through this life without being thankful.  Thankful for the large things in life, thankful for the small, seemingly insignificant things in life, thankful for our salvation and His sustaining power.
     The third thought is “praising.”  Praising is an act of the will.  I am not speaking of jumping up and down spontaneously to an event, a speech, or an outcome.  Yes, we can praise an individual by indicating with a mode of exuberance, but real praise takes some thought; it comes from a purpose, knowledge, and an act of the will.  Praise and thankfulness can be mixed together, in fact, we can add trust to the mix.  Since God is faithful, we can trust Him, we can thank Him for being so, then we can offer praise for the fact that He is.
     Put that all together and we have the concept of living in faith.  “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7, NKJV).  “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20, NKJV)  This old hymn speaks of how we are to live.

               “Living by faith, in Jesus above,
               Trusting, confiding in His great love,
               From all harms safe, in His sheltering arm,
               I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.”
                      –James Wells

     Living by faith is trusting in Him, thanking Him, and praising Him.  What a life!  We have this assurance as we walk on our daily journey–this journey of living by faith–that the Lord is with us each step of the way.  We trust Him for that, then we thank Him for being with us, then we give Him praise for all He does and for who He is.  Look now, as I close at two of the verses then go out into the world triumphant and trusting.

               “Tho’ tempests may blow and the storm-clouds arise
               Obscuring the brightness of life,
               I’m never alarmed at the overcast skies,
               The Master looks on at the strife.

               I know that He safely will carry me thro’,
               No matter what ever betide,
               Why should I then care, tho’ the tempest may blow
               If Jesus walks close to my side.”

You boys have saddled your bronc, now let’s see if you can ride him!”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (Conagher)

I could have unsaddled his horse for him, but that was something a man did for himself.”
                    –Elmer Kelton  (Eyes of the Hawk)

       “For His anger is but for a moment. His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
                    –Psalm 30:5 (NKJV)
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          “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” –Matthew 5:4, NKJV

The Amplified Bible has it this way, “Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are those who mourn [over their sins and repent], for they will be comforted [when the burden of sin is lifted].”  Do not forget that the beatitudes deal primarily with the spiritual life of a person.  Yes, they do include the natural, but more importantly the spiritual.  Mourning, in general, is over the death of a loved one, but it also can mean the sorrow for sin or for condoning it.
     In this context we see that sorrow can be a source of blessing.  Blessed are those that mourn–a special kind of blessing from the Lord.  This is not carnal mourning; it is not primarily the loss of a loved one, but the loss of innocence, righteousness, and self-respect.  It is the kind of grief that has such a hold on a man that it cannot be hidden.  William Barclays puts it this way, “There are certain things which only the rains will produce, and certain experiences which only sorrow can begat.”  Or in the words of an Arab Proverb:  “All sunshine makes a desert.”  Tears may be involved for sure, but often it is the deep thought process and the grieving of the heart that is noted.  A deep sorrow over sin, a deep sorrow for hurting our heavenly Father.
     This beatitude is a sort of paradox:  happy are the unhappy.  This is the sorrow of repentance; it is a godly sorrow.  Grief, guilt, shame, are all present, then there is relief and rejoicing.   Notice that Jesus mourned.  He wept over the sins of others, over Jerusalem who would not receive Him.  What was His message to these?  Repent!  The man who is desperately sorry for his own sin and unworthiness needs to repent to experience the joy of the Lord.  “The thing which really changes men is when they suddenly come up against something which opens their eyes to what sin is and to what sin does.” (Barclay)  Thomas Watson tells us that, “True mourning begins in the love of God–and ends in the hatred of sin.”  Remember, it is not mourning for the dead.  John Chrysostom reminds us that “They are not blessed who mourn for the dead–but rather those who mourn for sin.”
     This is a war, a fight within man.  There is sorrow over sin, this inner war that can at times be grievous; it is the flesh versus the spirit.  It is a perpetual war for even after one is born again there is the fight with sin, the old man-flesh trying to regain its position.  We sorrow at our failings, our sins, our guilt now because we failed the Lord.  We now have a godly sorrow.  David wrote, “For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” (Psalm 51:3, NKJV)  
     In the next few weeks we will continue to look at this beatitude.  In the meantime don’t be ashamed if you find yourself in spiritual morning.  Just to look at the news should bring mourning to our hearts as men and women turn their backs on God, mock His name and His holy standards.  When we sin, we fail to maintain the righteous ways of God, we should be in mourning.  Then, joy comes in the morning–we are blessed because of His great faithfulness and His wondrous mercy and grace.

Most folks set their sights too high. They demand too much of life…. Let me tell you…the happy man is the man who is content with just what he needs…just so he has it regular.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (Where the Long Grass Blows)                     

       “But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.”
                    –Psalms 73:28 (NIV)
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               “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”
                          –Philippians 4:11(NKJV)

Paraphrase:  “I find a sufficiency of satisfaction in my own heart, through the grace of Christ that is in me.  Though I have not outward comforts and worldly conveniences to supply my necessities, yet I have a sufficient portion between Christ and my soul abundantly to satisfy me in every condition.”  (Jeremiah Burroughs)  We see that contentment is closely related to yesterday’s study regarding gratitude and thankfulness.
     I recall an old Gene Autry movie (yes, I know some of you don’t have a clue).  There was one scene that comes to mind.  An eastern woman was posing as a cattle rancher.  Gene asked her what kind of cows she raised.  She hadn’t a clue, then spotted a box of condensed milk that had on the label, “our milk comes from contented cows.”  She immediately said, “we raise contented cows.”  No clue, and more, we don’t have much of a clue today what contentment is.  We have the means, the availability, the goods, and yet we are probably the least contented people in the world.
     We have to realize that contentment is a soul business.  It is being satisfied with what God does; knowing you are in good condition.  External contentment doesn’t last long.  Man wants freedom, he claims that he is free, even in Christian circles, but they are slaves to their passions, their desires, their want of material things, and it doesn’t stop there as the next step is more, better, bigger, louder.  People stand in line for a movie, a game, a new phone.  The one who is discontented will also find that their heart is unruly.  They are not satisfied for any length of time with what they have, therefore it comes forth as anger, bitterness, and hatred.
     There is a need for the soul to be silent before God.  Yet so many prefer the noise of the crowd, the stadium, the concert.  No wonder they cannot have a quiet spirit.  No wonder they are in turmoil.  Jeremiah Burroughs says that, “Christian contentment is that sweet inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every direction.”  Contentment being a soul business is being satisfied with what God does; knowing you are in good condition.  The world seeks to deceive us by presenting contentment as having more than we already have.  We have not only enough, but we have all we need.  It is important as we go through this life that we realize the things of the world are temporal, they are but momentary and not everlasting.  We need to be good stewards in the things we already possess.  We need to fulfill our duty of serving God in the circumstances in which we find ourselves.  It is the battle between self-sufficiency versus God-sufficiency.
     Let me finish with some thoughtful words by Richard Dresselhaus.  Perhaps if we would evaluate ourselves more we might be more content.  He says:
          Gratitude–you can’t complain and give thanks at the same time.
          Grace–you can’t complain and still live in the fullness of God’s favor.
          Worship–you can’t glorify God while complaining about His ways.
          Service–you can’t have a positive impact on people…and be negative at the same time.
The words of the Amplified put it this way, “satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted.”  Learn to be thankful, learn to be content.  As these become part of your lifestyle and character then more will be added.  Know this, “It is possible to have enjoyment all your life if you take it from the hand of God.” (Ray Stedman)