Meditating on what Jesus had to say-Matt. 5:4

4"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

Kind James, Amplified, and Living versions of the passage all say blessed are those who mourn. I think this whole theme is a continuation of the same theme from verse 3, that we're blessed when we realize that nothing we have is of any value and only He is what matters. It's a Kingdom principle, that you must come down before you can come back up. We must realize how we are truly without what is needed because then we will be willing to let go and let Him work.

I need to think on this daily because I tend toward grasping onto things; reputation, building a nice home, career accomplishments, relationships...whatever it is NOTHING compares to God. My relationship with Him needs to be the core of my life - no other substitute!

Loss is so hard though. I've known lots of it in my life. I'm divorced and have known the loss of the marriage relationship and dream. I experienced the loss (allbeit a positive situation) of my oldest son when he went away to college this past summer. The worst loss of all is when I've messed up in life and exprienced the loss of self respect. I'm reminded of 2 Corinthians 7:10 where there are two types of sorrow/mourning/distress discussed. It says that "Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets." I want to be real and not be in denial and truely see and aknowledge the losses in my life, and then allow those same losses to draw me closer to God.