Daughter in Waiting Ministry

Last week, I shared my study on The Beatitudes, specifically verse 3 which lays the foundation for the rest. The verse highlights the caring and protective nature of God towards the brokenhearted. It also highlights the blessing God bestows over the lives of the brokenhearted by declaring that those who are broken in spirit are the inheritors of His kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3).

Throughout His sermon on the Mount, Jesus reveals the loving, caring, and protective nature of God towards the brokenhearted and also declares the next blessing: 

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Matthew 5:4 (ESV)

The God we serve doesn’t leave the brokenhearted in the same place He finds us in. God allows us to experience every emotion with Him, but I love that He doesn’t let us dwell in our mourning. Though He’s near to us and weeps with us as John 11:35 tells us, He eventually restores us and stays true to His word that there’s a time for every matter under heaven:

“A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

Ecclessiastes 3:4 (ESV)

When I surrendered my life over to God, I was severely depressed. I was so depressed at times that I was unable to get out of bed or even see a future ahead of me. Though God stayed with me and comforted me in that place, He made it clear to me that I couldn’t stay there. He didn’t allow me to remain in a state of despair and made sure to uplift me out of it. Specifically one night, He brought me to John 5:8.

Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”

John 5:8 (ESV)

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The Heaving at the Pool on the Sabbath

This biblical passage details one of the miracles performed by Jesus in Jerusalem. Jesus encountered a man at the pool of Bethesda who was considered an ‘invalid’ in Jewish society at the time. For thirty-eight years, this man was seen as an invalid because he couldn’t walk (John 5:5).

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” 
“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
John 5:6-7 (NIV)

Jesus’ response to the man’s complaint was to get up and walk and by faith, the man stood up and walked. Though this man most likely experienced feelings of rejection, sadness, and despair based on his response to Jesus, when God encountered him, God didn’t allow the man to stay where he was found. The comforting nature of God met this man in his circumstances and uplifted him out of it.

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That night Jesus brought me to John 5:8, I was feeling shame, regret, and hopelessness over my life. I was lying in my bed and profusely crying. I remember God telling me to go to this scripture and essentially saying: Anne, I love you, but you can’t stay here. I have plans for you so get up, take up your bed, and walk. After the many weeks of healing He had already done with me, God was essentially saying: you can’t keep going back to this state of despair. You can’t camp here, you have to get up now.

My initial reaction to being sent to this scripture was like this man. I cried to God and said that I didn’t know how to walk anymore (emotionally, mentally, and spiritually speaking). I was feeling so defeated by life that I didn’t know how to cope anymore. I asked God that night to show me how to walk again and He gently met me with crawling. I had to at least try to crawl and He would take care of the rest. The following weeks led to a series of God strengthening me through His word and His love and now, months later, I have not been in the place of absolute despair that I was once in. Sadness and the occasional negative feelings still come, but it’s nothing compared to the depression that crippled me for so many years.

I can personally attest to the uplifting and caring nature of God for the mourners and I can claim this blessing in The Beatitudes because God stayed true to His word in my life. He comforted me in that space of despair, but He didn’t allow me to camp there.

We’re blessed in our mourning for we can know with confidence that God takes heart of it, He’s near to us in it, and He won’t leave us there. When we mourn, the best place we can be in is in the presence of our Heavenly Father, with a listening ear towards our Lord and Savior, and a surrendered posture towards His Holy Spirit. As inheritors of the kingdom of heaven, we shouldn’t camp in our brokenness and mourning and instead, we should take hold of the promises of God that are bestowed over our lives.

Sincerely,

Anne

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Comment below: 

What situation(s) or circumstance(s) left you mourning and how did God comfort you through?

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A great biblical book to study on this topic is the book of Job. Despite what the circumstances showed, Job knew in his mourning that God was still to be praised. 

Here are some additional verses to meditate on this week:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

1 Peter 5:10 (ESV)

Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

Joshua 21:45 (ESV)

David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

1 Samuel 30:6 (NIV)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:15-16 (ESV)