Today’s guest post is written by Lisa, in her own words she says, “The Art of Pursuit is made up of snapshots of my journey as a 20-something single Christian woman following hard after God” . You can read more of Lisa’s great articles on her blog site the Art of Pursuit.

“Blessed (enviably happy) are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

If I were to write this verse, it would read, “Blessed are the eternally happy for they shall be…well…eternally happy.” For what do the happy need?  But Jesus didn’t say that the happy were blessed. Instead, He took a moment in time to correct a grave error in our understanding. He commanded blessing on an unexpected group of people. “Blessed are they who mourn…”

I never envy people in mourning and I would laugh at the idea of anyone envying my own sorrow. I envy those who are happy, excited, reveling in their circumstance. I pity those who have lost something.

So why are the mournful to be envied?  Not for their sorrow alone. There is a sorrow that is a “worldly sorrow”. A morose spirit that sinks into depression and despair. We can tend to cling to our sorrow and never let it go. We can sorrow for sorrow’s sake until it becomes an addiction. But it is those who mourn who have the opportunity to be comforted.

“…for they will be comforted.” Not might not possibly. They will be comforted. “  Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted.” (Isaiah 49:13) The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Comfort. He is the Consolation in times of sadness, in seasons of loss, when there is no happiness to be readily obtained from our circumstance.  And He is always ready and available to comfort us. For this reason the heavens sing and the earth rejoices. The mountains break into song because the Lord is the consolation of His people.

Could it be that the comfort gained far outweighs the loss? Could it be that the consolation fills the void to overflowing – to the point that we are better off after the whole process than before?

This comfort is the mighty hand of God reaching down to dry the tears of His hurting child.  God could show us His power by withholding all painful situations from us. But He shows His LOVE when He comforts us. He reveals the sweetest side of Himself when the great Lord of Heaven and earth comes – not to pull us immediately out of a hard situation – but to gather us close to Himself and walk through the situation with us. He demonstrates His deep, affectionate kindness when He slows His pace to match our stride and supports our weak and stumbling journey through the rough places. He is the Companion in our sorrow…the kindest, most gentle companion ever known.

Blessed are they that mourn, for they know – more than anyone – the Father Love of God. They have felt a facet of His nature that no one else would know. They know what it is to be held close to their God.