Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Matthew 5:1-2,4 (NKJV)
¹  And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
²  Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

⁴  Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

            To mourn is to be sad or disappointed because someone or something has passed away or has changed significantly. We must be aware of at least two issues in the mourning process.  The first issue is that in order to receive comfort, we must be willing to mourn.  To be stoical in the face of loss is to drive the pain more deeply into our being and actually prevent the healing that can come from the grieving process. When we refuse to grieve, we deny the comforting ministry of the Holy Spirit.  We shut the door to the desire of God to be our Comforter.  One of my favorite songs is “For Those Tears I Died” by Marsha Stevens.  In the song the Lord speaks, “I felt every teardrop when in darkness you cried, and I strove to remind you that for those tears I died.”

            In John 14, just before the crucifixion, Jesus had much to say about the Holy Spirit as our Comforter.   In verse18, He promised, “I will not leave you comfortless.”  Be willing to mourn and, therefore, willing to be comforted.

            The second issue is to remember that mourning is for a season. Solomon wrote:  "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; Ecclesiastes 3:1,4 (NKJV)

David wrote, “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”  Psalm 30:5 (NKJVB)

            To be overly mournful is to be lugubrious is to wallow in exaggerated, ludicrous or overly dramatic grief.  To be lugubrious is also to shut the door to the desire of God to be our Comforter and the joy-giver of our lives.

God can use even our grief to enhance His kingdom.  ^“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NKJV) Praise the Lord!  When we accept His comfort. we are then able to comfort others.

            “O, Lord God, I receive Your comfort so that I may be both comforted and a comforter. Amen.”