Matthew 5:4 is one of the Beatitudes. It reads: God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Now the person that mourns is the person who becomes poor in spirit and repents. It isn't necessarily talking about mourning over the death of somebody. It is talking about recognizing that we are sinners and understanding how much those sins hurt God and others.
We see on the TV in eastern countries for instance, those who are wailing and crying over the death of somebody. Their emotions should be that strong when we know how much we have hurt God. We all take forgiveness for granted and we shouldn't.
None of us can mourn like this unless we have the Holy Spirit within us because it is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of our sin. When we sin we bring dishonour to God's name.
When we want happiness at any cost the lines between right and wrong can become blurred and we stop seeing how far from Jesus we have come. That is when we stop mourning over our sin. But when we do mourn God will comfort us. One of the great examples showing this is the story of the prodigal son.
Now when we do mourn we will be comforted. I have never really experienced grief over a close friend or family member, but I'm sure you may have done. You know what it feels like to have lost somebody special. I'm sure I am also right in suggesting that there is nothing that can take your pain away. God helps you through it but He doesn't take away your emotions. He can't because if He came to experience a human life not only so we could be saved but so that He could understand how we feel, then why would He take those feelings away? He understands how we feel so that He can help us to work through it and comfort us. It is the same when we have come to Him in repentance and asking for forgiveness. If we are truly sorry He will wipe away that which is not good and give us a new start. That is a comforting message don't you think? God will take it all away and allow you to begin again.
Those who understand that they need God and want to walk with Him WILL be comforted but only when they walk in repentance.
