Mourning – February 3, 2023

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

Mourning

Dr. Alejandra Vasquez has published an article that sheds light on grief. While you and I might associate mourning mainly with the death of a loved one, Dr. Vasquez reminds us that losses of many kinds may cause us to mourn. A few examples include: The loss of a friend through distance or a rift in your relationship. The loss of your sense of home through your having to move to another place. The loss of familiar people and routines at work when your employer creates all kinds of changes. The loss of a sense of identity when you must leave your profession. The loss of your former lifestyle when you take on the care of an ailing loved one. The loss of independence when poor health prevents you from doing what you’ve always done. Even a series of relatively small losses can create what Dr Vasquez calls “compound grief.”

The truth is we live in a sinful, broken world, and by nature we are sinful, broken people. As a result there will be all kinds of losses—losses around us and of our own making. And some of those losses will make us mourn.

If you are in mourning, if you are in grief, know this. You are on Jesus’ mind and heart. And he fully understands what you feel. “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,” Isaiah says of our Savior. There is no kind of grief you feel that he does not grasp.

But Jesus also gives a promise. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. When our Lord lived a holy life in our place and suffered and died for our every sin, not only did he purchase for us full forgiveness. He also secured comfort for us in this life and absolute comfort in the life to come, “where there will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain.”

That’s his promise. And with Jesus, a promise made is a promise kept.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you know my sorrow. Thank you for your comfort. I look to you to carry me through. Amen.