“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” – Matthew 5:4 ESV
How Can We Be Happy If We’re Mourning?
Based on the understanding of blessed in the Beatitudes meaning happy, this verse doesn't really make much sense. Happy are those who are sad?
The Greek word used here is penthountes, and it’s the strongest word the language has for mourning. It calls to mind the type of soul-aching grief that one feels for a loved one who has passed away.
We can expect to feel this type of grief throughout our lifetimes. The fallen world is full of heartache—sickness, death, war, the myriad ways that people hurt each other. Sometimes it feels like we can hardly step outside or turn on the TV without being bombarded by horrible news.
But Jesus is getting at something a bit deeper when He says, “Blessed are those who mourn.” Yes, when we mourn over the state of the world, we can and should find comfort in Jesus. But this verse is about more than just being sad over our or others’ external circumstances. It’s about what our heart posture toward our own sin should be.
Sorrow That Leads to Comfort
We should mourn over our sin. The fact that our sin is grieving God, hurting us, and likely hurting the people we love is the very thing that leads us to turn to God in repentance and ask for His forgiveness. The Apostle Paul talks about this kind of sorrow in 2 Corinthians 7:10: “For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow” (NLT).
God doesn’t want us to mourn because He’s cruel and delights in watching us suffer. He wants us to mourn our sin because it’s what causes us to run into His merciful arms. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow, because when we turn to Jesus for forgiveness, we’re not met with condemnation, but with the gentle, loving comfort of our Savior. First John 1:9 gives this very promise: “But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (NLT).
