“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).
These words are taken from the Sermon on the Mount (also known as the Beatitudes). Jesus is speaking to his disciples about troubles they will encounter when they seek to live out traits which contradict society. Being a follower of Jesus was both popular and odd.
In this life, too, there will be sadness and mourning. The above verse gives me permission to mourn. Mourning is expected and encouraged. Life doesn’t always go the way I want it to go. Spouses and children make bad choices affecting family deeply. Boating accidents, drowning, and random shootings saturate the daily news. It’s no surprise wives and children wake in the middle of the night in tears. Merely waking and dressing for the day can seem laborious.
Good to know there is a remedy. I read in 2 Corinthians, chapter 1 “Praise be to the God…the Father of compassion and the God all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles…,” Isn’t it refreshing to realize there is a God who understands, cares, and wants to kiss away our wounds?
But, wait, there’s a two-fold reward. God comforts us in times of distress and pain “so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:4). Even the comfort we receive from God does not stop with me, but multiplies itself as I, in turn, am able to give to another that same healing balm.
I remember having lunch with a new friend just after my Mom died. Joyce’s mother died years before, yet her transparency and empathy for me calmed my soul. You see, she understood. When someone experiences death of a loved one, I am able to put myself in their place.
If I could figure this sadness out all by myself, then God and his people wouldn’t be needed. That’s why the God of all comfort is readily available day or night. I just need to ask.
“But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God” (2 Corinthians 1:9).
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Lovely post, Teresa!
Thanks, Kathy.