JOURNEY from MOURNING to JOY ~ 2

JOURNEY from MOURNING to JOY ~

Day 2: Comfort for your grief

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

Here is a sample from today's GriefShare QUESTIONS "In the Bible" and "In Your Life" (so you have an idea what this daily study has and that it's not too much but enough to reflect on through this journey)

In the Bible 1. What kind of blessing do you think will come to the person who honestly mourns? 2. How can a person in mourning be comforted?

From what this Bible verse says in the Beatitudes of Jesus, the answer is simple: COMFORT.

It is only through dependence upon the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling the believer that we can live up to the standards set before us in the Beatitudes and commit to living the Christian life. So then by the essence of this, we receive the Holy Comforter to dwell within us, stirring up His power to be comforted in the midst of our sorrow. God will comfort us as mourners. He comes along side and gives encouragement. Mourners are to be envied because they are the recipients of God's blessings of prosperity. They are spiritually prosperous because they are comforted.  I am far from being an expert on this so I'm sharing the following from something I read over this past year (*sorry, I did not document the source when I saved it) but it applies to this Beatitude:

People mourn for many reasons. They can be sick physically and mourn the loss of their good health. Most of us have mourned over the loss of a dear friend or family member in death. Tragedy befalls a family and we mourn over our lost fortunes in the economy or natural disaster. Many mourn over wounded pride, the loss of a lover, a coveted position, status or self-esteem. However, in the context before us we are looking at our spiritual bankruptcy and our hungering and thirsting for the righteousness of God.   Jesus uses a word for "mourn" that means to mourn as one mourns for the dead. It is the strongest word in Greek language for mourning. The image is a loud mourning like the lament for the dead. It is a mourning which cannot be hidden. This is a grief which brings heartache and which brings tears to the eyes. It is a grief manifested, that is too deep to be concealed and cannot be hidden. Such mourning can only take place in the sorrow of repentance and is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a convicted sinner. Let us note carefully that it is one thing to be a guilty convicted sinner and another to grieve and mourn over it. We can have knowledge that yes I am a sinner and flippantly cast it off. Conviction and confession is one thing, repentance is another. Godly sorrow returns the soul to God. Jesus is describing a Godly sorrow that affects change in the whole person.

In the midst of any grief journey, I'm sure one does not consider "mourning to be a blessing" but it sure changes the context to think of MOURNING as a GIFT. A gift of the Holy Spirit, who brings us COMFORT and might I add the strength to face the next day and the next and the next. By being in God's Word as you push through the days of grief, you discover treasures through the Comforter who can also relieve any spiritual anguish as with David and many of the Psalms. To those who mourn God grants pardon, forgiveness, deliverance, strength and reassurance. (For more in depth study of this verse, go to Bible org.)

Help Guide has an excellent article

Supporting a Grieving Person

HELPING OTHERS THROUGH GRIEF, LOSS, AND BEREAVEMENT

In your life 1. Are you allowing yourself to grieve? Why or why not? 2. Since the death of your loved one, what have you found comfort in?

I have allowed myself to grieve by allowing me TO feel the fluctuation of many emotions; to think about my loss; to socialize or not depending on how I feel; to rest whenever I need it and however I choose to rest - be it a nap or in prayer or to keep busy; to talk or not talk about the person... being alone with God has allowed me the privilege to grieve but many times I've been caught off guard when out and about, so to me that means I'm still raw and in the process until I can cope and deal well without falling apart. It does not mean I will forget the pain of the grief or the beloved loss, I will just be able to deal with it. An example of this, would be a song... and being able to sing it or hear it without the tears choking me or to pick up a personal belonging without the pain but rather a joy of the memory. 

The best comfort I have found is in looking at photos of the good times, listening to favorites in music and being able to walk in places we shared together. I am finding that as I am able to write out and express my grief as "blogging" has been that my journey from mourning to JOY is now moving forward, honoring and valuing myself and my unique process of feeling, thinking, and experiencing life and loss. It sure helps to have HOPE in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, as many have remarked,"I have no idea how people without God in their life can cope..." this is how I feel and this stirs such an urgency for me to share Jesus and that power to overcome.


I hope to be able to continue to share much of this JOURNEY to JOY here but at this point, I must admit that many of the questions and applications I may have to keep private in my own journal rather than a public forum (plus daily blogging this limits me in other areas so my daily posts may be brief) but I will do as best as I can and do the ones that I can share, in hopes to help you and me. 

Grief Share

HELP FOR THE JOURNEY

(main resource for this 6 wk. study)

along with the Bible and my personal experience

* source for the Bible Verse image (Trevor Bowers) Christian Images