An Introduction to Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. ―Matthew 5:4
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”
― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ―Matthew 5:4
Have you ever read these words and been utterly confused?
I have.
For the longest time, I couldn’t reconcile it. How could I be both blessed and mourning? If blessed means “happy” and mourning means grief, how can joy and anguish exist in the same breath? Didn’t mourning mean something was wrong—that I did something wrong? And happiness was reserved for the times when I got it all right?
The paradox confused me. Thanks, Jesus.
Then, after witnessing friends walk through seasons of pain and loss—while navigating my own—it finally clicked.
For they will be comforted.
As friends and I exchanged war stories of pain, loss, and suffering over coffee mugs, firepits, and wine glasses, I began to take note of something.
During our worst days, we all asked God if He saw our pain, why He allowed it, what we did to deserve it. We told Him we didn’t want to be on His “strong soldier list” anymore, that we wanted softer lives. We even took back prayers we thought we meant when we sang our hearts out to Maverick City Music’s Refiner.
And not once did anyone say God told them, “You deserved this” or “Time to move on.” Instead, we all found that in our pain, we met the God of mercy—willing to sit with us when we turned our backs on Him, listen when our emotions got messy, and fight for us even when we wanted nothing to do with Him.
And that’s what I want to talk about here: El Roi, the God who sees us, and Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals—not just at our best, but in our worst moments, when we’re acting like everything but a child of God.
Blessed is the home of those who are mourning—not because they’re happy, but because that’s when God shows up with His great power and comfort. Not just to say things will be alright and to have faith, but to help you get out of bed, take care of yourself, keep going when you want to quit. To guide you through the pain and show you there’s life after—that you’ll be wiser and more beautiful on the other side.
His presence alone is the treasure.
Pain humbles us. It reminds us we’re human, vulnerable, and that we desperately need God. It can either harden us or bring us back to ourselves—and each other—through compassion and empathy.
This is a place for pain—to be explored, reclaimed, redeemed, and mourned. So we can heal and help others do the same as we all point each other back to God. Where we don’t have to feel ashamed because we know God is with us, no matter how messy life gets.
Here we will exchange everyday real-life stories of loss as a means to heal by sharing in each others’ pain and redefining our traditional black and white thinking around seasons of grief and mourning in the context of faith. Contrary to popular belief, I have learned that faith does not spare us from tragedy, loss or pain nor is tragedy, loss or pain an indication that we’ve done something wrong or are in “sin.” Through this publication, I offer a different perspective—that it is in these most raw and grey moments of our lives that God is most present with his comfort, love and grace. He is the God of the mountaintop and the valley.
This Wednesday, November 5th, we will start with me and one of my stories. Truthfully, it wasn’t the story I originally planned on sharing. However, this past year has taught me that sometimes the most urgent stories, the stories that most need to be shared, are the ones we’re still living through.
What you can expect is the first feature story (my story) will be sent to your inbox this upcoming Wednesday, if you’ve subscribed.
Moving forward, unless I say otherwise, every other Sunday, a new feature story will be released and sent directly to your inbox. These will be everyday stories of people like you and me who have decided to tell their story of pain, loss, and/or suffering as part of their own healing, but also as an investment in allowing God to use their story to help others heal. To remind others in similar situations that they are not crazy or alone and that there is in fact a pathway to healing.
What we ask:
Read without judging or comparing. Everyone handles pain, loss and grief differently, and we hold space for it all.
Hold space for yourself and for those whose stories you’re reading—it takes both courage for you to read and for them to share.
Do not expect all stories to end in a happy ending or to be wrapped with a nice bow. We are exploring what it means to sit in the middle without tidy answers.
Join us in the conversation about that week’s story, tell your own story and/or ask questions in the community chat.
I pray this be a spacious place where we mourn gloriously.
Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. ―Psalm 34:5
Song of the week: TOBE NWIGWE | ANOINTING ft. YAEL HILTON & IVORY NWIGWE
Note: I think it is important to note that God doesn’t block bad things from happening because it is not in his nature to control us. He’s been that way since the very beginning with Adam and Eve (Genesis 2). He gives us free will and the ability to choose His way or our own. Unfortunately, due to various reasons that are sometimes in our control, and sometimes not, we often reject God and choose our own way resulting in people doing things that are not only harmful to themselves but to others—resulting in pain, loss, and suffering that can be seen happening all around the world. However, in the midst of pain, loss and suffering, that’s when our hearts are most tender and pliable—allowing God to reveal Himself and work on things that have been hiding in the dark crevices of our hearts. And it is in that groundwork that we can appreciate His presence and times of joy even more.