Matthew 5:4
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. I’ve got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart. These may be familiar songs from Sunday School. Joy and happiness are hallmarks of our faith. What then do we make of this Beatitude from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount? Happy are those in grief? Does this make a lick of sense? Yes it does. Psychologists agree that dealing with loss is an important stage in healing. Josh McDowell quotes a claim from a psychology professor that if you boil down all of psychological teaching, you get an incomplete summary of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus knew exactly what he was saying on that hillside.
Blessed are you when you experience loss. That is hard to believe for those in the midst of it today. Blessed are you when you mourn the state of the world, of evil and injustice. It is hard to imagine being happy these days. There’s something you need to remember to be blessed. This is not the real world. These are shadows of what is to come. You will be comforted now because Jesus died on a cross to bring you blessing. The promise of a better world helps us in this world. The ultimate comfort will come when Jesus returns, that is, if you have believed in him for salvation. If so, you know morning will come even after a night of sorrow. If you have rejected Jesus, mourning will come and it will be forever. There will be no comfort. Blessed are those who grieve in this world for loved ones and for the lost. Their joy will overshadow the grief. Joy comes in the morning.
Be comforted.