Scripture.

“God blesses those who mourn for they will be comforted.”

Application.

The feelings surrounding grief are complex and beyond explanation.

Grief can catch us unexpectedly sometime, such as when an experience, a smell or a place, remind us of a person we miss.

Somebody has said, that grief is the price we pay for love. In other words, if there were no love in the world, there would be no grief. That would not be a better place.

God promises that those who mourn will be comforted. I can testify to this. In one very sad episode of my life, both my wife and I experienced what we came to describe as glimmers of joy. What should have been, and was, a very tragic experience gained redemptive power because we met God in the darkness.

This is very powerful. Grief is an inevitable part of life, and God does not promise to take us out of suffering and grief.

But He does promise to go with us through the darkest, most anguish-filled times.

Those who walk with the Lord will be comforted in their times of mourning.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you for all my experiences of your presence. In the midst of suffering and of loss. Amen.