Hope for the Hopeless: Comforted

Yesterday we talked about being supremely blessed, blissful if you will, if you just so happened to be one of the billions of people who are poor in spirit. While knowing that you have an abundance of blessings if you are the under-dog, what you are going through at this very moment may need a little more than that; enter comfort.

The second eye-opening revelation that Jesus spit out to his disciples in the Beatitudes went something like this:

“Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.” - Matthew 5:4

Mourning

Again, another blessing, of the same intensity as the last. This time it is directed towards a different group of people – or is it? My mind registers the convo to have gone something like this (just pretend that I am speaking in a foreign language…and you just so happen to understand that language):

“Guys, you don’t understand how excited I get for the people who are mourning at this very second, the ones who have mourned and the ones who have yet to mourn for something. You see, when they mourn, there is a hole that opens within them – gaping and bottomless. Their pain and sorrow stretch all the way up to heaven as their soul cries out from the depths of their being.

Their body has no way of dealing with this and their mind cannot justify to put the pieces together. It doesn’t make sense and they ache. It is at THAT point, when they are the most vulnerable, the most needy, that I can stand behind them, that I can be with them and listen to their silence and know exactly what they are saying. It is at that moment that my comfort means everything to them and because they are my friend, neigh, my family, all I want to do is reign down my peace upon them and completely fill that void.”

OK, so it is the extremely extended version, but that is how it plays out in my head.

What does it mean to mourn?

Now, the first thought that might come to your mind is, “I haven’t lost anyone so I am not mourning, where does that leave me?” That is a great question and to help me answer it, I have invited my good friend dictionary.com over to help explain.

Mourn[mawrn, mohrn] v.,
To feel or express sorrow or grief over (misfortune, loss, or anything regretted); deplore.
To utter in a sorrowful manner.

Of course, there are definitions that go along with lamenting over the loss of a loved one, but I think that Jesus was trying to make a point here. If Jesus wanted to limit it to the loss of a loved one, he probably would have said, “Blessed are those who have lost a loved one…” But he didn’t. He said, blessed are those who mourn.

To feel or express sorrow or grief over (misfortune, loss, or anything regretted). To utter in a sorrowful manner.

Everyone is doing it

Have you ever lost a job when times were extremely tough? Have you ever moved to a different town and left all of your friends behind? How about your feelings after exploding at someone who is close to you? Were you ever sorrowful or filled with grief over any of those situations?

Guess what. You qualify. Jesus was talking about you. And while your soul might simply utter, because that is all it can do, all you need is to turn to Jesus and let Him fill that void. No matter how much money or inanimate objects or physical pleasures you try to throw into that hole, it will never amount to anything – remember, it is a bottomless pit. The only thing big enough to fill that hole is the comfort of Jesus, and that is exactly what he wants to give you.

He wants so bad to come in and wrap his arms around you and tell you that everything will be OK, but he can’t unless you invite him to do so. I know you might be mad at him for something, but that doesn’t matter to him. He doesn’t get mad back. Actually, the more mad you are at him, the more he wants to just love on you.

Here is the funny thing about Jesus, no matter how much He wants to do something, He will not overstep bounds (He is a man of His word…literally – HA!). You must ask for Him to come to your aid.

What are you mourning for today? Have you asked Jesus to be your comfort?

Be Supremely Blessed.

Links Referenced:
Photo by: unknown
Dictionary.com
Hope for the Hopeless: Blessed