The Beatitudes – Those Who Mourn

Jesus tells us, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). It’s a straightforward sentence that holds a promise for everyone. In this life, grief, mourning, and disappointment are inevitable. We will all lose someone or something we love, we will all face unfulfilled hopes and unanswered prayers, and we will all feel the pain of the realization that every good thing is temporary, except for God. This pain is universal, but that does not make it any less complex. We mourn because we have lost something good, and we know that God is the One who created those things. If we go back to the very beginning, in Genesis 1:31, we read this: “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good indeed.” Like God, we recognize the goodness in creation. But because of the fall, we also feel anguish that things are not as they should be—and, sometimes, that anguish can lead us to question God and why He would allow us to live in such a world. Our grief and mourning make it strikingly apparent that we live in a place that has not yet been made perfect, where we must rely on God and wait for Him to one day make all things well.

Our grief and mourning make it strikingly apparent that we live in a place that has not yet been made perfect, where we must rely on God and wait for Him to one day make all things well.

It is in that very place where God meets us. In this well-known verse from Psalm 23, we are reminded of the Lord’s unshakeable presence: “Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.” God isn’t merely there in our bleakest moments; He is active. It’s not only the presence of God that comforts the writer of this Psalm—it’s also the rod and the staff. These tools belong to a shepherd, and in this Psalm, the Lord is the shepherd. He uses the rod and the staff to fend off danger, but also as tools of correction if the sheep get off course. The Lord provides for, guides, and protects those who follow Him. He keeps us safe, and that knowledge brings us comfort as we go about our lives. That said, we will only find that safety and comfort when we trust in the Lord. Surrender and comfort are interrelated, as we see in Matthew 11:28–30, when Jesus invites the weary and burdened to try His way of life, promising that those who do will “find rest for [their] souls.” While rest is not the same as comfort, it is part of the equation; comfort often comes when we rest in God and His sovereignty over all things.

Comfort and mourning don’t exist in a vacuum, though; they are meant to connect us to God and to others. In the Beatitudes, it doesn’t specify who “those who mourn” are expressing their grief to, but we do not express the depths of our emotion and pain to just anyone. That kind of vulnerability requires trust—again, we see that word. Trust is hard to build; we must reach out over and over, sharing and risking a little more each time, until we are confident we will be met with a positive response. Intellectually, we may know that God loves us unconditionally (and will respond accordingly), but it can take time and practice for that knowledge to make its way into our hearts. When we face grief, mourning, and disappointment, and we take our emotions to God, He uses that process to build our trust in Him and strengthen our faith. When we have been through that process, as difficult as it may be, it enables us to comfort others, too. As 2 Corinthians 1:4 says, “He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” It is immensely painful to lose what we love, but the God of all comfort meets us in that pain. In our darkest valleys, He is still creating good things—like strong faith, deep trust, and loving relationships—and He will one day create a new world where “death will be no more” and “grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away” (see Revelation 21:4). Even if that promise feels small in comparison to the pain of today, Jesus’ words are still true: comfort will eventually come.

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If you’re working through grief or mourning and need additional support, please reach out! Our Prayer Team would love to pray with you. To submit a prayer request, click here. We also have a team of pastoral counselors who can meet with you one-on-one. To schedule an appointment at our Murfreesboro campus, please call our office.