Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

 “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted” (Jesus). How can anyone feel blessed in the midst of a loss? How can one feel happy when mourning? I do not believe that God expects us to feel happy in any way shape or form when dealing with a loss. In order to put this in a little perspective, we have to understand that there are many different kinds of losses. There’s the loss of a job, a home, a family member, a friend, a family pet, etc. Not all losses are the same and not all feeling of loss is the same. Not everyone mourns the same way nor is there a time limit for mourning. Regardless of the loss, there is always a need for comfort.

Jesus said “Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Jesus Give True Rest). This was an invite to all, not to some. Jesus wants us to go to Him with our hearts and with our souls because He is the only one that can give us the rest and the comfort that we need. “Blessed are those who mourn…..” because we understand that we can go to Him who will help us deal with that which we have lost. If we have lost a loved one, He will comfort us; we just have to go to Him and ask Him for that comfort; for that peace. “….. for they shall be comforted.” This is a promise. He didn’t say “might be comforted, or, the righteous only will be comforted”. He said all who go to Him will be. No exceptions.

Be blessed in knowing that there IS comfort and there Is peace available in time of mourning. Find happiness is knowing that there is rest in Him who never brakes a promise. He made a covenant with Moses and proved that He would never leave Moses or the people of Israel. When Moses could not go into the land promised by God, Moses transferred leadership to Joshua and he reminded Joshua to “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for The Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you” (The Nelson Study Bible NKJV).  

Allow time for mourning and know it’s ok to mourn the loss of a loved one for as long as needed. It’s ok to be saddened and hurt about losing a job or a home. No matter the kind of loss, know that if you seek the comfort from The Christ, and truly believe that He is there for you, then you shall be comforted.

(n.d.). Jesus Give True Rest. In Matthew, The Nelson Study Bible NKJV.

Jesus. (n.d.). The Beattitudes. In Matthew, The Nelson Study Bible NKJV (p. 1583).

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2015). Retrieved from www.merriam-webster.com

 (n.d.). The Nelson Study Bible NKJV. In Moses, Joshua the New Leader of Israel.

Blessed are the poor [in spirit not wealth]

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Jesus). There are some that mistake this teaching to mean that one has to be poor in order to inherit the kingdom, but, in my opinion, they are incorrect in their understanding of this scripture. First of all, Jesus was talking about the poor in spirit, not the poor; there is a difference. Being poor in spirit, like the rest of the beatitudes Jesus spoke of, is a quality that a Christian should have. Hopefully we all know that a Christian is simply a person who follows the teachings of The Christ and has accepted Jesus as Immanuel, as the Son of God and Lord of all.

With that said, let’s look at this first quality Jesus had mentioned to His disciples and to the multitude that followed Him. “Blessed are the poor in spirit”; Blessed by definition means welcome, pleasant, or appreciated; connected with God, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary; poor in spirit [not simply poor] means that we knowingly and purposely depend on God and not ourselves, because we understand that we do not have the ability within ourselves to please God (Walvootrd & Zuck, 1989).  

As a Christian, we must understand and accept the fact that we are human and therefore fallible; we are imperfect and don’t have all answers to all questions. We need God in our lives in order to learn and understand His righteousness. We need to continually seek His will in our lives and continue to live our lives as Jesus taught and as Jesus lived while on this earth. Well, what about the scripture that says “ Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Jesus, p. Matt. 5:48) . The perfection spoken here does not mean without blemish; none of us are without blemish or without sin; “(Paul, p. Ro. 3:23).  What it means is that we need to continuously seek Him and make it a purpose in our lives to live the way Jesus taught us to live; to continuously strive to be like Him; to seek His righteousness. In doing so, we then become perfect in regard to the relationship we are to have with Him and the behavior we are to have as followers and believers in Jesus The Christ and Son of God. Being poor in spirit is knowing that we must continuously strive to learn what God’s will is for us in our lives; to continuously put Him first so that we can learn to live the way Jesus did and the way Jesus told us and taught us to live. Poor in spirit has nothing to do with money or physical possession; but has everything to do with having the understanding that we need Jesus in our lives. Blessed [happy] are those [of us] who are poor in spirit [who constantly seek Him because we cannot go it alone]. Accepting Him, living as He taught us to and acknowledging the need of Him in our hearts and life, bring us closer to the kingdom of heaven and the understanding of the kingdom.

Jesus. (n.d.). The Beattitudes. In Matthew, The Nelson Study Bible NKJV (p. 1583).

Paul. (n.d.). The Nelson Study Bible NJKV.

Walvootrd, J. F., & Zuck, R. B. (1989). The Life of Christ Commentary. Wheaton: SP Publications, Inc.