We’re looking at the Beatitudes from Matthew 5 this month. Join us today for Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
When We Cry
“I’ll give you something to cry about!”
I hope you’ve never heard those words said to you in an outburst of anger.
But if you have heard them, it was probably when you were already crying, right? And you might have thought, but not replied out loud, “No thank you, I already have enough to cry about.”
When we’re sad and in pain, we don’t want more sadness or more pain.
When Jesus sat down on a mountain two thousand years ago, crowds of people gathered around Him. People who knew sadness, people who knew pain. They’d been living under foreign Roman tyranny for years. Their religion was under ridicule. Their health care options were unspeakably bad.
Yet within the first five minutes of His talk, Jesus tells them this:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4
What did He mean? How would they interpret that?
How do we interpret it?
Comfort of Companionship
We, too, know mourning. Life hurts. Sad things happen to everybody. Friends betray, jobs disappear, bodies fail. Some is brought on by our own doing, some by the hands of others, and some just because this world is a fallen place. Every life has storms.
We want the pain to go away.
Is that what Jesus is promising here?
And do we have a right to be disappointed when we’re not comforted out of our pain?
But look closer at His words. Jesus wasn’t promising pain removal. Instead, He was assuring them of the comfort of companionship in it.
How Do I Get the Blessing?
The Beatitudes aren’t a legalistic series of do’s and don’t’s to guarantee blessedness. The Beatitudes are truth statements about gifts of grace we receive in the Kingdom.
We don’t have to do anything to receive the blessings. They come with our inheritance.
And our inheritance includes that all our mourning is only temporary.
Knowing it will get better later can make it a little better right now.
But what about when we’re too sad or pained to even hold hope? Hope is still there anyway.
Once the Kingdom came and we were accepted in, it never goes away. Our comfort isn’t solely dependent on our faithfulness to God, but on God’s faithfulness to us.
Even when we can’t keep open the door of hope, Jesus can. We may see a slammed door.
But Christ’s light can seep underneath even closed doors.
Christ as Hope
Christ lives in us so Hope lives with us. In our mourning, regardless of its source—whether it’s from a tragedy unfolding in front of us or from a sin we can’t beat down or from someone else’s poor decisions—Hope won’t abandon us.
Jesus will never say to us: “I’ll give you something to cry about!” Instead, Jesus cries with us. His companionship is our blessing.
We always have reason to hope. Because we always have Christ. And Christ is Hope.
That is comfort.
When has comfort evaded you? How do you find hope in pain? Please share in the comments.
I take comfort in “he will turn your mourning into dancing.” I want to mourn with others when they do. I also want to laugh with them. I trust He feels what I feel and knowing that I also he understands.
Amen, Bill. Being present not only physically, but also emotionally, for each other is so helpful. I’m glad we have a God who led by example in that.
Lisa,
Unfortunately I did hear those words, “Stop crying or I’ll give you something to really cry about…” No, not comforting in the least. Not that I look back on periods or mourning and say, “Gee, I’m glad I went through that.” But, actually had I not gone through deep periods of mourning, I would never have known the deep, loving, and compassionate comfort of Christ. So yes, in my mourning, I was truly blessed. I saw a side of the Lord I may not have seen otherwise.
Blessings,
Bev xx
That’s a beautiful testimony to the comfort that Jesus can give, Bev. Thank you for sharing that. I’ve had periods of deep mourning too, and although I never want to relive those times, they did stretch my heart out in bigger ways to accept the blessings of Christ later. He is faithful, even during the days we don’t necessarily “feel” his comfort.
“His companionship is our blessing.” What a sweet phrase. Such a lovely post, friend. xoxo
Isn’t it crazy when we really think about it, that God lives with us??? It still amazes me. Thanks, Brenda.
Hello Lisa,
If I don’t see Jesus first thing in the morning,I struggle… I need Him to begin my day!
Throughout my seasons of life my Lord has carried and comforted me. As I’m writing this I miss my mom so much that I’m hurting. My mom passed away several years ago and there are times when I go through moments of unbelief that she’s passed. I still reach for the phone to call her…I know that I will see her in heaven some day and this brings me comfort.
Mother’s Day is just around the corner and again I will enter the empty room.
I cry out to my Heavenly Father and I’m comforted.
God is so good!
Have a wonderful Day!😊
Blessings,
Raquel
Thanks for sharing about your mom, Raquel. I lost my mom in 2010 and I still miss her terribly as well. Without the comfort of a reunion in heaven, grief would be too heavy to bear. I am so thankful that we have that hope of meeting again! Praying for all the daughters and mothers and women without kids who struggle on Mother’s Day…
Such beautiful encouragement here, Lisa. I love remembering that comfort comes from Christ’s company with us. We are never alone.
Thanks, Betsy. I’m glad too that we are never alone. I consider His presence with us as one of our greatest gifts.
Every morning as I sit doing my devotionals a bright shaft of light seeps through the bottom edge of our front door reminding me that the seal needs to be replaced. I’ll never look at that light quite the same after today, my friend. Even when we finally get around to replacing that seal, I’ll be reminded that the Light of Christ, the HOPE of Christ can penetrate anything.
“The Beatitudes are truth statements about gifts of grace we receive in the Kingdom.” I’ve never quite looked at the Beatitudes from this perspective before. Thank you, friend, for shedding the light of Truth on these scriptures today! Blessings on your weekend!
I’m glad your strip of light will be another reminder of the hope of Christ, June! I’m so thankful He shows up in even the tiniest cracks where we expect to see only shadows and darkness. I need to see that light in my weekend where it’s a weather-alert day of thunderstorms and cold fronts! :) Hope it’s warmer and brighter where you are on this Saturday.
Dear Lisa, when I think about my mom’s life and the tragedies it held, I can easily see she withstood them because she clung to Jesus. To me, one of God’s graces is putting vibrant Jesus models in our lives. Thanks and blessings for the gentle reminder that mourning doesn’t have to be end.
Sounds like your mom was a faith-filled woman, Alice. I’m glad you had her in your life. I still miss my own mother but I know she is face-to-face with Jesus now and that really, really helps me. Hope is one of God’s greatest graces to us!
As someone who has mourned in the past couple of weeks (my grandma passed away), I took comfort in this post and the reminder that His companionship is a comfort. This has been so true in my life and especially right now!
I’m sorry you lost your grandma, Amy. :( (Now that I am a new grandma myself, it gives me a different perspective on that!) I’m glad that you have been finding His companionship to be comforting; we are blessed indeed to have His faithful friendship in the midst of pain.
This is so powerful, Lisa! We had a rough winter, and I learned many of these truths first-hand. How gracious is our God that we don’t have to chase him down to encounter his hope and comfort. It is our inheritance. This post was eloquently written and full of truth! Thank you!
Yes, I am SO thankful that we don’t have to chase Him down. That’s a great way to put it, Stacey. I pray that your summer will bring ease and joy to balance out your winter.
This is beautiful, Lisa! It’s so encouraging to know that God understands our pain and cries with us.
It is quite amazing when we realize how unusual it must be to have a God who actually understands what we are going through. When I think about all the false gods of ancient religions, those worshipers didn’t have that companionship as an option (or anything else good, for that matter). I am encouraged by it too, Lesley!
mmm … the comfort of companionship, Lisa. His. Others. Looking back at those heartbreaking seasons, the numbness, the despair, He was there every step of the way. He hadn’t changed. He was faithful and warm and loving and kind. No matter how upside down and inside out everything seemed.
Bless His holy name …
I’m glad you included “others” in your comment too, Linda. Sometimes when we can’t “feel” God’s comfort from Him directly, I’m grateful that He indwells others to be the hugs and words and flesh that we need. I bless His name with you, friend….
It’s so comforting to know that Jesus who never leaves or forsakes us is our Hope!
Yes, we are blessed that the Unchangable One always has our back. No worries about His faithfulness!