My Mourning

God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
-Matthew 5:4

If Jesus said God blesses the people who mourn, then mourning is alright.  Even Jesus mourned (John 11:35).  Tears are good.

I was at a lecture, and I suddenly felt very sad, about a loss in my life.  There was a grief, a loss, to mourn.  We call it "grief work".  Many of us have pockets of loss or hurtful memories in our hearts.  More than a few times, a scene in a movie has resonated with my grief or loss; and I am suddenly bursting into tears.

I also had a dream this past week, and in it, I was reciting a disappointment, which was mourning a loss.  It got my attention and I agreed to grieve it.  If we ignore our "grief work", the hurts stay with us and contaminate our lives.

Blessed are those who mourn their losses.

We need to let go of the hurt, so that we can take hold of the new beginnings, the new seasons, and the second chances.  For example, when you suffer a loss; if you stay in the place of hurt and judgement and anger and resentment, you are looking at and holding onto the old.  That is your obsession and your heart is full of it.

When a new opportunity comes, you cannot see it or take it in, because you are preoccupied with the loss of the past.  In God's kingdom, we get forgiven, we forgive others, and God brings new beginnings and the second chances (and third and forth chances).

In God's kingdom, it is a "fail-safe" environment.  We can try things and fail at them.  We can miss things, but different things come, that we get a chance at.  We can be sinned against, ripped off, lied about, or bullied by others; and God makes up for it.

The one who is stuck, sometimes says, "why oh why did God allow thus and so".  Then they theologize and surmise that their experience of loss means that either God is not good or God is not powerful.  Both of these positions are false.

God gives life.  In living, God gives us the gift of mourning or grieving our losses.  Everyone's story has losses and God's compensation.  "Beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair." (Isa. 61:3)  If you suffered a loss, God has compensation for you, but you have to take hold of Christ (Phil. 3:12) and work it out (Phil. 2:12).  Part of that is mourning.

Without mourning, you don't experience morning.

God has a new day for people who have suffered, but they have to grieve the loss.  Some people laugh inappropriately, when they should be mourning.  James wrote, "Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy." (James 4:9)

Some of our losses are linked with what we have done.  Sarcasm and masochism are not the answer.  Mourning is the answer and healing.  Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free (Isa. 61:1).  He came to tell mourners that the day of God's favor is here (Isa. 61:2).

To receive, you must grieve.

I believe in riding the wave of mourning in our lives, and receiving the blessing of being healed by Jesus from any and all loses.  We do let it go and we do get over it, but not as the world does (1 Thess. 4:13).  The healing and the freedom comes from and through Christ.

He heals my life.  He is my compensation.  He always has a plan, even when I have failed or others fail me.  He is always good.  He always has a way because he is the way.  In him there is always provision.  He is my hope.


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