Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4 (KJV).

REFLECT:
Mourning is a hard place to be in. It is a very difficult experience to have. Nobody would like to encounter situations that would bring them into a place of intense sorrow and pain.

Human nature abhors sorrow and pain, and that is a fact. The reason being is that, in the original plan of creation, we were not created to go through sorrow and mourning. At the beginning of creation, God called us to His divine and eternal goodness as spiritual and eternal beings and to operate in everything out of His Divine Glory.

However, sin was introduced into us through our disobedience to God and we gave the devil an upper hand to rule over our lives. With the acceptance of the contract of sin, we fell short of the Glory of God into the curse in which death is one of the outcomes of this fallen state.

Death on its own brought in a trail of other adversities such as mourning, sorrow, sickness, etc. All these adversities have had a devastating effect on our lives, holding us in the regions of captivity.

However, the good news is that there is hope. We have been given a way out of this dungeon. Isaiah 49: 24-26 gives us a clear confirmation of this hope: “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.
And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.” (KJV).

God, Himself had to come up with a rescue plan. This plan is manifested in Jesus, the Son of God who reached down into our world. He came and died on the cross for our sins; in effect, breaking us free from the curse and hold of sin and death.

Jesus’ death on the cross restores us back to the original purpose and plan of God. Even though death still holds sway in the world, Jesus through His death and resurrection offers us a greater reward, and that is to live with Him eternally, rather than the eternal damnation that sin brought about.

Our Bible verse for today assures us of this fact, which is that we are given the eternal Spirit of God–the Holy Spirit, also known as the Spirit of Grace and Comfort. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the full assurance of God’s comfort of His eternal and complete redemption for us as we navigate through God’s destiny and callings for our lives here on earth and in the life to come.

Therefore, as children of God, who have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice, we must no longer mourn or be sorrowful, rather, we should see ourselves as blessed. The reason is that we have the Spirit of Grace and Comfort, who has been given to us to comfort us in all our troubles. HALLELUJAH!

Our greatest blessing should be derived from the fact that God through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, has given us everything that we need to navigate this life in comfort and Grace by the Holy Spirit.

Ebimobo W. Obasi

PLEASE PRAY ALONG:

A Prayer for Those Grieving.

FATHER GOD, You see those who mourn, and You promise to comfort them. Please bring healing to our hearts when we grieve. Give hope to those feeling hopeless, and strength to anyone feeling overwhelmed. Show us how close You are in the midst of our grief. In JESUS MIGHTY NAME AMEN, AMEN.