VALUES
«Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:41 NIV).
One night I hugged my pillow and cried. I cried for many reasons and one of them was precisely the pathetic image of me hugging a pillow. But I needed to cry. I began praying because I was exhausted from the day’s activities, their emotional toll and the effort of crying.
I silently asked God, (‘Lord, please embrace me with Your peace so 1 can sleep. Right then I remembered a verse a friend had written in a little card she had given me. It was a verse I knew by heart, but it took on a new meaning, «Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted» (Matthew 5:4, NIV). There, in spite of my weakness and confusion, I was clearly and strongly impressed with an idea that helped me view trials in a totally different way. That beatitude not only shows us a future promise, but also shows us a facet of God’s love that can only be experienced when we cry. How can we be comforted if we’re going through the best of times, surrounded by joy and good news?
Another beatitude says we’ll be filled, but that can only be truly understood when we feel hungry and thirsty.
God has many ways of showing His love for us. But it seems that we sometimes don’t understand things very easily and don ‘t enjoy all its facets unless we go through certain things that more distinctly remind us of them.
In the fourth chapter of his first letter, Peter says, «As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God» (NKJV).
When you go through a difficult situation today, I invite you to ask yourself what facet of His manifold grace you can experience in a special way and specifically thank Him for it.
“Christ lifts up the contrite heart and refines the mourning soul until it becomes His abode” (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, ch. 2, p. 11).
“As they partake of His love they will enter into His travail for the saving of the lost. They share in the sufferings of Christ, and they will share also in the glory that shall be revealed. One with Him in His work,…they are partakers also of His joy” (ibid, p. 12).
Those are beautiful promises you can apply to your life today!
