Blessed are those that mourn

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

God is the ultimate Comforter.  He can turn ashes to beauty.  He promises to bring us hope and a future, even in the midst of the storm of great loss.  Have you experienced a loss so significant that your whole life seemed meaningless and hopeless?  Well, this is His promise to you: "You will be comforted!".  In essence, He says "CONGRATULATIONS... I see your great loss and I will turn your dark moment into glorious light... I will give you hope."

I have been witness to great tragedy and loss.  I have heard the echoes of a friend's desperate screams in the midst of sobs.  I heard the cries that rang of complete loss.  Held the hand of a young widow as she looked in her daughter's eyes and told her "Daddy is in heaven"... And I was there as the sun rose behind the mountain, when the shock of loss turned to raw mourning. 

Jesus says "Blessed are those who mourn"....This "empty, nothing left to give" type of mourning is what Jesus was talking about.  Do you grieve this deeply for your sin?  I ask myself if I have truly ever felt so convicted of my sin that I fell to my knees like a grieving widow.  Do we TRULY connect our sin to the death of our beautiful Savior?  When will we get to that point?... The moment the Holy Spirit convicts us in such a way that we are completely empty of self. The point where we are so distraught over our sin that we have nothing left.  When we realize that we powerless...keenly aware of our lack of control.  When we (and maybe you already are! )get to that point, then, we will have no choice BUT to surrender.  When will die to self Jesus will bring us into a spiritual maturity and we will be blessed, for we mourn.  And we will be comforted.