When I read this scripture, I sat with my thoughts for a while, thinking back to times of mourning in my life.

When I was younger, I thought this word mourning was just meant for when people died, or when people lost loved ones, but as I have lived life over the last 50 years, I have learned otherwise.

I looked this up in the Vines dictionary and found that the word “mourn,” used in Matthew, comes from the Greek Word “Pentheo,” which means to mourn for or lament. This word is used for mourning in general.

There are many things I have mourned in life. I have mourned relationships that were not what I hoped they would be or relationships that were broken. I have mourned people I have loved who have walked away from Jesus. I have mourned the end of seasons in life. I have mourned my own sin and the sins of others, as well as the damage that sin causes in our lives and those around us.

I have mourned when loved ones have died. I have mourned the death of dreams and grieved when my heart has been hurt for those things that break God’s heart.

Have I felt happy about mourning? Not really.

Have I been glad about going through the pain of grief? Definitely not.

So, how are we blessed here?

How do we experience God’s favor, prosperity, and blessing when we mourn?

The promise here is that God will be our comforter. When I think about what I do when I see someone hurting and how I comfort them, I think about sitting and listening to them, coming alongside them and grieving with them, giving them hugs, and tangible ways of helping them know they are loved. Sometimes, when I know I can’t fix something for my kids, I feed them.

I envision this is how Jesus comes alongside us.

I have personally experienced the comfort God brings during these times. I have known His presence as He sits with me as I cry and share the pains and hurts of my heart with Him. He sits with me in it, mourns with me, and lets me know and feel His heart in it.

He graciously and tenderly, through His Holy Spirit, exposes the sins in my heart, causing genuine grief and lament over the ways I have broken His heart. He meets me there with compassion, lovingly shows me the root of these sins and issues, and gingerly stands me up to walk forward in sin no more.

He feeds me with the truth, the truth that will truly set me free, and I am blessed.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 1 Corinthians 1:3-4

Our Heavenly Father comforts us, and as He does that we are given what we need to comfort others the way God comforts us.

We are blessed and can be a blessing to others. This is how God wants us to live. He doesn’t waste anything in our lives. None of our pain, experiences, or times of mourning are wasted.

It is important that we don’t ignore our grief. Sometimes it feels as though it is too painful, and we want to shove the pain down. That is what the enemy wants us to do, so that we will not receive the comfort and healing from God that helps set us free and keep us moving forward.

If you are struggling with grief, be sure to reach out to God or a trusted friend. If you need more help, there is no shame in reaching out to a qualified and trustworthy counselor.

Take some time today to think back to times when you have mourned. Thank God for His comfort, conviction, and encouragement.

If you know someone who needs God’s comfort today, pray for them and consider how God might want you to come alongside them.

I am grateful that God loves us so much to show us our sin, meet us in our grief, bring comfort, and help us move forward from it. May we live this way in our relationships with others as well.