Mourn and Comfort
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” Matthew 5:4
When we face great sorrow, disappointment, tragedy, or failure, we wish that we could escape the trouble like running inside the house from a thunderstorm. But comfort from the troubles of life is much harder to find than shelter from the rain. The deeper the sorrow, the harder the pressure, the worse the despair, the more elusive comfort seems to be.
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn”. To discover what Jesus meant, in this beatitude we will look at the meaning of mourning. Matthew 5:4, speaks of mourning over sin,
“For godly sorrow that produces repentance leading to salvation not to be regretted”
(2 Corinthians 7:10).
This “comfort” is the comfort of forgiveness and salvation.
THE MEANING OF MOURNING
Sorrow of certain kinds is common to all mankind, experienced by believers and unbelievers. To express these sorrows and to cry over them opens an escape valve that keeps our feelings from festering and poisoning our emotions and our whole life. It provides the way for healing, just as washing out a wound helps prevent infection.
GODLY MOURNING
In the second beatitude Jesus is speaking of godly sorrow, mourning that only those who sincerely desire to belong to God or who already belong to Him can experience. Paul speaks of this sorrow in his second letter to the Corinthians.
“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner” (2 Corinthians 7:10-11).
The only sorrow that brings spiritual life and growth is godly sorrow, sorrow over sin that leads to repentance. Godly sorrow is linked to repentance, and repentance is linked to sin.
Until one experiences sins forgiven and cleansed by the grace of God, no one can ever know the peace and joy of God. Mourning over sins brings forgiveness of sin, and forgiveness of sin brings freedom from guilt and judgment.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom” (James 4:8-9).
The faithful child of God is constantly broken over his sinfulness. To grow in grace is also to grow more aware of his sinfulness. Like the Pharisees we can deny our spiritual bankruptcy and pretend we are spiritually equipped and rich. But on the other hand our attitude can be like that of the prodigal son, we can admit our sinful condition, mourn over it, and turn to our heavenly Father to remedy our poverty (Luke 15:11-32).
THE RESULT OF MOURNING
The result of godly mourning is comfort; “they shall be comforted”. That is why they are blessed. It is not the mourning that brings us blessing, but the comfort God gives to all that mourn in a godly way. As our mourning rises to the throne of God, His matchless grace and comfort comes down from Him by Christ to us.
Our God is the “God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3), who is always ready to meet our need. “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11: 28).
He will lift the burden from those who mourn over sin in their lives and He will give rest to those who weary of the guilt of sin. He is faithful to forgive, and for as long as we mourn over sin He is faithful to comfort.
A Study from the Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 4)
John Denman
Photos by Kontine Photography