Transform: Blessed Are Christian Business Owners Who Mourn

(The following was originally published at www.CareyGreen.com.)

In Matthew 5:4, Jesus says –

“Blessed are those who mourn,

         for they will be comforted.”

How on earth does this apply to business?

After all, it seems counterintuitive that a Christian business person would have a mournful spirit.

Of all people in the world, we should be the most…

• Optimistic
• Joyful
• Positive
• Energetic
• Hopeful

…people in the world.

When I talk about us BEING mournful in spirit, I mean in the sense that Jesus speaks in the section of Matthew that we know as “the Beatitudes.”

Well, I think the meaning behind this passage is one of humility – being able to accept the hardships that come with life as coming from the hand of God and trust Him. It takes a ton of humility to do this.

In business, we have plenty of opportunity to practice this type of humility and faith in God. We have contracts that don’t come through, we have clients that bail out on us, we have just plain mistakes that happen. All this can become hardships for us in our business. So, our attitude needs to be one full of trust in God through these things.

It’s okay to mourn and be sad and bothered by what happened. But while we mourn, we need to understand that God is sovereign over us, our lives, and even our business.

We need to know that since He is sovereign, then whatever He is producing at that moment, or within that season will ultimately be for our good, as Romans 8:28 says:

“…we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…”

So, take those hardships and challenges with even just a tiny bit of faith. Put your reliance on God, who is working for your Good. And trust that even though you’re mourning now, you will be comforted.

There is a definite, clearly promised BLESSING to us for mourning, believe it or not.

And I want the blessings Jesus promises, whatever form they may take.