trbccoffeebreak

“God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 (NLT)

A young bride loses the life she was carrying along with the dream of birthing a child of her own. A man nearing his retirement loses his brother—his best friend—to a heart attack. Now how will he fill the void during lunchtime every day? A son is left caring for the shell of a man that his father once was. Dementia stripped away all that was Dad. Parents drift through the days seeing the child they lost to a devastating accident in every room of the house, in the expressions on the faces of the child’s siblings, wondering how to cope.

A businessman dresses in a suit and tie he’s worn for the better part of 40 years only to sit on a bench, clueless as to what to do with his days of sudden unemployment. Who will hire him so near to his golden years? A single mom struggles to fill her children’s bellies while her own heart is drained of hope after her husband walked out on the family. How will they survive without a steady income?

No matter what the circumstances, we all have reason to mourn. Our reason to mourn may be caused by an accident or our outright rebellion. “Heaven is the joy of our Lord; a mountain of joy, to which our way is through a vale of tears.” (Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible)

Our source of mourning may be different, but our path is the same—“through a vale of tears.” What does the path through the mourning look like? It is paved in complete dependence on God. The guardrails are constructed of pure repentance and humility. Directional signs on the path remind of His unending mercy and grace.

An ironclad promise: God will comfort us. As we seek God in our mourning, the Holy Spirit guides us on our way, promising the true comfort that comes not from the well-meaning words of friends and family, but the closeness of Christ. Will you seek Him in your mourning?

“Lord, we come to You with our mourning, knowing that You alone offer the comfort we desperately crave.”

For His Glory

Tammy Randlett (http://staletoast.com)
TRBC Women’s Life