Smile Through Grief

Scripture: Matthew 5:3-12

Key Verse: Matthew 5:4

In October of 2018, I lost a woman who meant the world to me. Every Sunday night, I would call her to talk about my week and she would encourage me to “keep the faith.” That woman was my Nanna (my grandmother) and losing her during my junior year of college almost destroyed me. Who was going to pray with me and for me when life was being cruel? I was going to have to trust and lean on God more than ever before. In Matthew 5:4, God promises to bless those that mourn and to comfort them. While there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t think about my Nanna, I’ve felt an overwhelming amount of comfort from God that has allowed me to push through.

The first thing we must realize is the meaning of the word “blessed.” In the Greek, the word blessed means happy, an untouchable joy. So, in the context of the verse, Matthew wants us to see that, even though we are mourning, we can be happy. It sounds kind of crazy to be happy that you have lost someone. But you can find joy in knowing that the person is with God if they had already given their life to Him. You can also think about the important fact that: since blessings are gifts given to us by God, we know that He will bring us an unalterable joy. A joy that death can’t even take from us.

Then, we have to look at the tenses of the verbs in the verse: “are” and “will.” Even though we are currently mourning the loss of this particular person, our comfort will come in the future. Maybe you have been mourning the loss of someone for a while, don’t lose faith. We can’t rush God’s comfort because His timing is not the same as our timing. Some people will appear to move on faster even if you both are grieving the loss of the same person because we all handle grief differently. However, we must remember that when we are comforted it will come in the form of a blessing or untouchable joy. John 16:20 said it best “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy” (NIV). God wanted us to know that the world will seem to keep moving and appear to be doing well while are grieving. It will seem like the people who were there for you the most don’t understand your pain no matter how bad you want them too. There will be days where you are trapped inside of your own head to the point where you can’t stop crying. But that is not where you will end. God wants us to be able to use our testimonies to help others. So, when we receive that joy, nonbelievers will be able to see that the only reason you made it through was because of God. They will see how far you have come, and you will have no choice but to give God all the credit.

So, how do you smile through grief? You look forward to your comfort. It won’t be easy. I still struggle with sadness and frustration at the thought of my nanna, but I know that we will be reunited one day. I also know that, until that time comes, God is going to be my comfort and He will cover me with untouchable joy. Don’t run from the emotions because God can use all of that to get the glory. It is our job to keep the faith and remain positive.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for your untouchable joy. Thank you for allowing me to realize that my timing is not your timing. Thank you for allowing my grief to be a part of my testimony that will lead people to you someday. Lord, please comfort me and grant me peace. Allow me to smile through the grief and have faith in you. Lord, I love you and thank you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.