Comforted

Posted on by Jennifer Arimborgo

Sad

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4, NKJV).

Most of the Bible is impossible to grasp without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. This Beatitude is a perfect example of that truth. Without His help, we might look at it, and laugh. “What?” we might exclaim, “Are you telling me that receiving some measly comfort in the face of horrific loss is supposed to make that loss worth the suffering it represents?”

Good question! What, exactly, did Jesus mean by these words?

I am inexpressibly grateful for Holy Spirit’s guidance in understanding the Scriptures. Here’s how He unpacked this verse for me. Blessed in our sorrow? The blessedness of those of us who mourn is about the long-term fruit born in our souls as we hold onto God in the midst of our pain. It’s about the beauty that comes forth as He takes what is broken and slowly shapes it into something breathtakingly glorious.

There are sections of this life that consist of long treks through the Valley of Weeping. If we will run to Him in the thick of our anguish, the supernatural comfort with which He will envelope our souls will far transcend anything we could have imagined. He is going to be exquisitely close. His manifest presence in the midst of our grieving will take our breath away. This is what Jesus meant by calling mourners blessed. We who mourn in God’s arms get to experience Him in ways we never would have, had we not been plunged into the searing pain of loss.

Blessed are we who mourn. In truth, we are more blessed than those who haven’t needed to mourn, so extraordinarily lavish is the revelation of Himself that He will pour into our spirits.

I know this to be true from my own life’s pilgrimage. At the culmination of my most difficult passage through the Valley of Weeping, Holy Spirit spoke to my heart. He explained to me that I had acquired “suffering credits” as a result of all that I had gone through. He then invited me to turn them in for more of His glory! My friend, I cannot even begin to describe for you what this has meant for me. All I can say is that the affections of His heart that He has caused to flood through my being have made every step of the way surpassingly worth it all.

The God of All Comfort invites us to journey through the Valley of Weeping wrapped up intimately in His embrace. He takes responsibility for our suffering; He is incapable of denying His own name. His very nature ensures that He will make it up to us, exceedingly, abundantly beyond what we have endured. He will reward us with unimaginable depths of Himself.

Blessed are we!

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18, NIV).

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Have you experienced God’s comfort in great loss?

28 thoughts on “Comforted”

  3. Jennifer, thank you for sharing what Holy Spirit shared with you! There is so much here!
    To answer your question: yes I have experienced directly the caring comfort of the Spirit. It was the night in which my Dad had passed away. As I wept that evening the Comforter came and spoke (audibly to me) that my earthly father was now with our Heavenly Father and I could be certain we would have a joyous reunion and eternity together. My heart began to heal at that moment.
    What you have written about moving through the Season of Weeping also resonates with a teaching/counsel I often give. Like in Psalm 23, we are to walk through the valley of death, not linger there. We are to feel what we feel in these seasons, but always while moving forward with our eyes fixed on the Lord.
    Blessings,
    Chuck

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    1. Wow, Chuck. The comfort you describe from Him is precious beyond words. I have never personally heard His voice audibly, but my daughter does regularly. That must be amazing. What a priceless treasure to have that knowledge not just in your head but deep in your heart, that that joyous reunion is coming. There is an anointing reading this testimony of yours that comforts my heart too with that revelatory truth, so thank you so very much for sharing it. And AMEN about moving through the valley of the shadow of death!

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  4. Beautifully written Jennifer,
    I always ask myself – what do people who don’t know Christ do in moments of crisis? How do they go on in their journey of suffering without knowing the comforter? When we come to Him and burry our sorrows in Him, we are comforted and the journey becomes light and bearable! May we always turn to Him who brings peace and joy even in the midst of what we perceive as the worst of the worst moments in our lives!

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  5. This bears repeating. At a time in my life that all was turned upside down, God, quickly spoke that He had turned my life right side up ! When I explained to all who would listen, that I have lost everything in my world [and others agreed] God spoke and said, that which He was substituting these THINGS with would have eternal value. None of what He spoke of happened quickly. Each day of my walk for nearly 14- months have been filled with pain and yet, Spirit has given me comfort in my darkest moments. I now better understand the many the many times the Word declares, ” Rejoice in your suffering “. Thank you Jennifer. Amen Len Wisniewski

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  8. Dear Jennifer,
    I believe absolutely that God through His Holy Spirit will comfort all who mourn over grief and loss particularly during the troubling events of 2019 on this Earth. Have you ever considered that the Sermon on the Mount which regards in fact the Kingdom of God may not be referring to mourning over earthly grief and loss but genuine grief over our human sinful nature and knowing that FORGIVENESS will come through the Cross. Blessed indeed are those who mourn over their failures and their sins because God will show Grace and FORIGVENESS. Then, they will be truly BLESSED and able to show Mercy to others and have a clean pure heart before God. Would love to hear other opinion on this. I have lately learned to view the Beatitudes and as a wonderful sermon about KINGDOM and not about Earthly events. ?

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    1. Those are some beautiful thoughts, Faye. I do believe that your perspective is a correct and powerful one. I also believe that it is talking about the events of our personal lives. One beautiful things I have noticed about Scripture and God’s way of communicating in general is that His messages so often have multiple layers of meaning. For example, the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecies in basically his era, but also the future end-time meaning found in each. And that Holy Spirit ever invites on the adventure of discovering more and more meaning in each phrase from His mouth! Much love to you, dear sister, and thank you so much for sharing beautiful insight received from Him!

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  11. I have experienced such comfort once in my life. As a young man, I fell for a young woman and was convinced she was the one. When it turned out that she decided I wasn’t her one and broke up with me, I was crushed. Yet in the midst of all that heartache, there was such a sense of God’s comfort and presence that I can’t even begin to put it into words.

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