#2 ~ Blessings on the mourners! You’re going to be comforted. ~ Matthew 5:4
The word “mourning” means “to feel deep sorrow, to show great concern, or to deplore some existing wrong.”
At first glance, we may think that this beatitude is simply talking about grief over the death of a loved one. But it is much more than that. How can we know and appreciate true comfort if we haven’t felt discomfort? In order to be strong, we must realize we are weak. Just as the first beatitude reveals that in order to realize how rich we are and that we are heirs of the kingdom of God, we have to first realize we are “poor”. Before we can be wise, we must realize that we are foolish.
Jesus was not saying that we live in a constant morbid view of life. He was speaking of living fuller lives with God being “front center” of our lives. In fact, looking more deeply into the words and sentence structure, being comforted is a passive verb, with God as the subject, who is doing the comforting.
The Amplified Bible reads this way: 4 “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].”
This is talking about mourning or lamenting over sin. Mourning is sorrow over sin. How can we know the need of repentance if we don’t first feel sorrow over sin?
“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit”(Psalm 34:18).
Jesus quoted Isaiah 61:1-2: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.”
When Jesus quoted this, He was proclaiming that He was the one Isaiah prophesied about who would bring help and comfort the brokenhearted, free captives, release prisoners from darkness, and bring comfort to all who mourn. This mourning is broken-heartedness. This can be any kind of grief brought about which causes the heart to be broken – betrayal, injustice, being sinned against. It can be imprisonment by being held captive by sin, addictions, unforgiveness, shame, or even the refusal to surrender the things we cling to which we think will give us comfort, security, or control. Only Jesus can bring comfort and healing for our broken hearts.
Many Christians have found great hope in the promise of God’s comfort during the kind of mourning that is a deep, heavy sadness after a great loss. When we cry, it’s an outward sign of sadness. The degree of brokenness we’re experiencing can result in tears and deep mourning.
Psalm 27:24 (and Psalm 30:5) speak hope in the mourning: “…weeping may stay for the night,but rejoicing comes in the morning.”
Grief can feel like a very dark night. But God’s comfort is like the early morning sun that begins to take away the chill of the night. In our mourning, we can wait, be strengthened, take heart because joy comes with the morning. Mourning with hope is still painful, but there is comfort in knowing that morning will come in our mourning. God’s promise lets us know we are not alone in our grief. This is a comfort! I’ve found it an opportunity to draw closer to God than ever before. In my grief, the words to an old hymn have become true for me: “No One Understands Like Jesus.”
Page Views 5
Last night in viewing “The Chosen”, (episode 2 of season 4), the quote that caught my attention was “There is no ‘should’ in grief.” I love that! There is no right or wrong way to grieve. Jesus understands our grief. He is acquainted with our grief. What an intimate privilege to walk hand-in-hand with Him no matter what kind of grief we are experiencing!