Matthew 5:4 (NKJV) 

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

There are different ways and reasons for mourning, and the type and purpose of grief will determine the outcome of the mourning. There is imposed mourning, and there is also self-determined mourning. There’s mourning for someone else, and there’s mourning for oneself. But one thing is common to all types of mourning, and that is the burden of pain. For mourning to be mourning, pain must be involved, and usually, this would be emotional heart aching pain.  

One pain that burdens the pilgrim is the burden of the wicked world in which he is forced to live in. The heavenly bound pilgrim has his entire senses besieged by the world system that surrounds him, plagues him, entices him, suffocates him and persecutes him. The pain is primarily emotional, but can sometimes transcend into the physical. The pilgrim wants to keep his heart heavenward, but he is always being pulled into worldly pursuit. He wants to keep his heart pure, but he is assaulted every day by the unclean sights and sounds around him. Such a man lives in a daily cycle of mourning; morning for himself and mourning for the world around him. The good news, however, is the promise of Jesus: “(we) shall be comforted.” God will comfort His children who have refused to blend into the world system. God will comfort us if we remain in the place of mourning. This is the only blessedness in mourning.  

“Lord, help my heart never to blend into the world system. Help me always remain a stranger and pilgrim here on earth. Help me behold all earthly pleasures with suspicion and only accept those pleasures that will not corrupt my inner life. Never permit me the freedom from the burden of pilgrimage, but keep me in the state of mourning, that my vigilance may never be compromised. I’d rather have You comfort me, Lord, than enjoy the pleasures of this transient vain world. Help me, Lord. Amen.”