Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

We all have at some point experienced grief. Some of our grief has been fleeting, and some has stuck around. We have been upset over bad grades in school, and we have wept over the loss of a loved one. Christ offers comfort for our grief, whatever it may be. The thing we need to understand is that our grief and our comforting are two-fold. We are grieved over our physical and earthly problems, and we receive material comfort. God will send someone to hug us, or He will provide a respite from the suffering, and we will learn from it.

The secondary, and more important aspect that we see here is about our understanding of our sin. When we understand our spiritual impoverishment, then we will most assuredly be distressed about it. Christ offers comfort. Christ offers the answer for us. He gives us the sanctuary and he gives us salvation.

Comfort, however, is given to us, not only to make us feel better, but also so that we in turn can take what we learned through our ordeal and help and comfort others. We know, because of what we went through, how best to show other people the answer, the reason, the advice so that they can avoid what we went through. We have the answer to the question of “Is there more?” We have the remedy to sin, to selfishness, to the bitterness of transgressions and how it seems that there is no way to atone for it. Dr. Jowett said that God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but rather to make us and comforters.

How can I comfort someone this week? How can I take my experiences and help someone else. How best can I serve the people around me? How best can I get through my own problems? Christ has all the solutions. Let Him show you.

Go tell it to Jesus, He knoweth thy grief;

Go tell it to Jesus, He’ll send thee relief;

Go gather the sunshine He sheds on the way:

He’ll lighten thy burden—Go, weary one, pray.