Reflections for the Grieving SoulSampel

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

Jesus, what an odd promise you’ve made here.

I mourn today, just like I did yesterday, just as I will tomorrow. I can do nothing else, despite my best intentions. So why don’t I feel blessed?

I know the history. I’ve seen the dictionaries. I know that the word “blessed” meant “happy”—or in literal Hebrew, “How happy!”—when You said it. The Greek equivalent that Matthew wrote down is makarios, a heavenly “state of happiness and well-being.” So Your promise in Matthew 5:4 could be interpreted, “How happy are those who are sad!”

That makes very little sense to me right now.

I will dig deeper.

It appears that makarios carries many shades of meaning. It actually implies that one is “lucky,” not so much in the sense of random luck, but in the sense that You orchestrate seemingly random—even devastating—events to deliver happiness in a person’s life. And, strangely, it is a congratulatory term, as in, “Congratulations for being chosen to endure sorrow!”

Hmm. If this is true, then even in the worst of circumstances . . . even when my wife has died painfully from cancer . . . I can still find a way to be happy?

Funny, that’s exactly what she told me to do. “After I’m gone, don’t close up this house and hide away from the world. Open the curtains. Let the sunshine in. Find a way to be happy.”

I do not yet understand this. My soul hurts with what feels like impenetrable anguish. And yet, Jesus, You have promised me blessing in this pain. So today I ask You to keep Your Word.

I mourn today, Jesus. I can do nothing else.

Please keep Your promise and makarios all over me today.

PRAYER FOR TODAY Jesus, teach me personally, intimately, how blessing works. Open my curtains, and let Your sunshine in. For just a few minutes today, help me find a way to be happy. Amen.