In This Moment: The Mount of Beatitudes

"Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 

 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

  

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

  

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

  

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account."

Matthew 5:1-11

I distinctly remember where I was when I read that above passage.

I was kneeling down in the church on the top of the Mount of Beatitudes. 

As I was reading it, the Holy Spirit kept directing me back to the verse, "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted."

It's not unlike the Holy Spirit to prompt me to pray for someone or to highlight a particular passage of Scripture. I was not surprised by that but by the particular verse chosen. 

I had received a message from my Mom earlier that day as we were headed to this location. She had asked if there was anybody on the trip who had an international phone plan. I responded that I would find out but that it would be later in the day before I would be able to call her. 

I knew something had happened back home if she needed to call me while I was overseas. 

I did not know anything other than that her, Dad, and my brother were all okay. 

So, when I arrived at the Mount of Beatitudes, I took some time to reflect and to pray for whatever had occurred back home.  

I'm no fortune-teller but the Holy Spirit always intercedes for you when you have no words to say or before you even know what to pray. 

That was the case for me. 

I really didn't know what to pray but simply followed the Holy Spirit's leading. 

I prayed for my extended family particularly my Grandparents, and I prayed for peace and comfort despite the news I would receive when I called home.

After praying in the church, I walked around the surrounding gardens feeling at peace.

The group left shortly after that and we went on with the rest of our day.

When we arrived back at our hotel several hours later, I made the phone call.

My Dad answered the phone and delivered the news that my Grandfather, my Mom's Dad, had passed away.

And that is when I knew why the Holy Spirit had highlighted that particular verse and had prompted me to pray for peace.

While I did cry later, the peace I felt when my Dad told me the news was only made possible by the Holy Spirit. He knew before I knew and that gave me great comfort knowing I had been prayed for by the Holy Spirit all day.

I'm so incredibly thankful that the LORD knew where I would be when my Grandfather went to meet Him.

Yes, it was painful not being able to fly home to be with my family and to bid my Grandfather a final farewell.

But y'all, what better place to mourn the death of my Grandfather than where Jesus of Nazareth had said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted," nearly 2,000 years ago?

It's been a month since that day and I still remember it ever so clearly.

Loss is always, always, always hard. It is never painless.

But Jesus always promises to walk with us through our grief.

I'm so thankful I was not only able to walk with Him spiritually, but to see where He walked physically on earth where He had said those words.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." – Matthew 5:4

They now have a whole new meaning to me.