Even now, in the dark of night when our hearts are breaking, He sits beside us!
Do happiness and mourning go together? What a paradox! How flatly it contradicts today’s hedonistic worldview! How can crying and joy go together? How can the perfume of happiness be extracted from the gall of sorrow?
Who in his natural mind would think of congratulating a person whose face was wet with tears? “It’s nice to see you crying today, Mary. Keep it up, it’s good for you.”
When we weep, we’re in good company. When Lazarus died, Jesus wept. When He knelt on the Mount of Olives and looked out over the city of Jerusalem, He wept. When Paul left the town of Ephesus, he and the elders wept with sorrow at their parting. John wept on the isle of Patmos because no one was found worthy to open the scroll that would reveal God’s plans.
But Jesus is not saying, “Happy are the crybabies, for they shall get what they want. Happy are those dedicated to feeling guilty even when they haven’t done anything wrong. Happy are those who have learned to whine their way to maximum attention. Happy are those who love root canals and IRS audits.” He says, “Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Do you understand the implications of this? The God of all comfort promises to comfort us.
o The God who comforted Abraham as he walked toward Mt. Moriah to sacrifice his beloved Isaac—that God will comfort us!
o The God who comforted Paul on the raging sea moments before he was shipwrecked—that God will comfort us!
o The God that comforted the fathers of the church, as they were being burned alive by their persecutors—that God will comfort us!
The first thing we’ll feel in eternity is the gentle hand of God, wiping the tears from our eyes.
When we’ve been abandoned by our dearest friend on earth and feel so absolutely alone, He picks us up in His massive arms and holds us close until the storm passes by.
Shout it from the housetops to the unhappy legions of earth: “We shall be comforted!” Who says so? The God of all comfort says so.
Source: Being Happy in an Unhappy World
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