Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

This is an excerpt from what is called “the Beatitudes” or teachings of Jesus to a multitude of people from surrounding towns gathered around him on a mountainside as he traveled throughout Galilee. On the face of it, these Beatitudes sound simple and seem easy enough to incorporate into one’s life as basic principles. But are they?

The term “I’m blessed” is bandied about nowadays as though it is some kind of privileged state which the speaker has attained by competition. Often it is just advertising: “look at me, I have a lot of shiny new stuff and I’m living well.” A closer look will reveal that Jesus had none of this in mind at all. Rather it seems to me he was laying down the foundation stones and walls of a crucible which is will refine our faith every day.

To shed a little more light on verse 4, I turned to the Amplified version of the New Testament which reads: “Blessed and enviably happy, [with a happiness produced by experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of his matchless grace] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted!” Wow!

No one I know, faced with the loss of a loved one, becomes all puffed up with pride, puts a grin on his or her face and says: “look at me, I’m blessed, I am mourning.” Not at all!  How then to experience being blessed while you mourn? Only by welcoming the presence of the Holy Spirit – he is the Comforter. He comes to sustain and speak peace in the midst of the trauma and drama and, in time, healing will begin and happiness will return. It requires you to lay your pain at the feet of Jesus and accept the grace that God is extending to you.