The BE ATTITUDES (part 2): Waiting through the drought

There's something about not having something you desire that drives people insane. Once you try something that's fulfilling, you want to do or have that same thing over and over and over and... You get the point. We do that whether or not what we long for is beneficial or detrimental to us.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
When I hear that, my initial thought is of someone who lost someone and is in a state of grieving. But what about mourning the loss of other things? When about mourning when we're going through a drought? When we're in a spiritual drought, there's something missing in our lives. Whether it be that we're just being held back by our own sin and selfishness, or we need to take a step further in our faith. Whatever the case may be, we lack something we need. We've lost our fervor.
Are you going through a dry spell right now? Do you feel like no matter how hard you try, you're not growing in your faith? Do you think that things should be starting to go well for you, but instead are only getting worse? When we mourn our losses and lose ourselves, then we can experience the Living Water that satiates our thirst for more.
In our college group, we were discussing this passage and the question came up: Why is it that people choose to stay in the desert rather than wait for the rain?
Is it human nature that we push away our need in that way? I say it's because of the life fact: "You don't know what you have until you no longer have it." If we never experience the rain, then we never have a desire for it. We can't get thirsty if we don't know what thirst is.
Back to mourning. When we die to ourselves, when we humble ourselves, when we allow ourselves to no longer be controlled by the world, we mourn. We give up something we enjoy in order to do what will ultimately make our life better. But it's the uncertainty of what's to come that scares us. It's the thought that if we give up all we have, we will lose everything and not get anything back. But God offers blessings and in an abundance. When we die to ourselves, we not only gain a life worth living, but we gain a life eternal, beyond the physical realm. When we submit to the things of the world that only give us momentary satisfaction, we lose a part of ourselves. We have to give up a part of our identity in Christ in order to be identified with the world. But God wants all of you. He wants your ugly AND your pretty bits. He wants the pieces that are broken, and the pieces left whole. He wants to hold you and keep you safe. But when you give yourself over to the world, He can't keep you safe. He has to sit back and watch His child be put in harm. If you happen to be a parent reading this, I'm sure you'll understand the fear and sadness the God gets when He watches His children be put in a place where He can't protect them, and He knows no good can come of it.
Why not give yourself up to Christ, ALL of you, and mourn for what you no longer have. Mourn for Christ who died for you, his blood shed on the cross... For you can be comforted with the knowledge that he did it for you so you can live life with him. Forever.