Poor in Spirit – a Blessing from God
Being poor in spirit doesn’t sound like a blessing at all. Does anyone really want to be poor in any area of their lives?
What does it mean to be blessed? A quick overview of the beatitudes sees the word blessed used repeatedly. On the surface, to be blessed means to be happy but it’s so much more. There is in blessing a sense of contentment, peace, confidence, joy and the favor of God! God’s blessing can never be taken lightly and because we are always dependent on his grace every good thing God does for us turns into an unexpected blessing.
The poor in spirit
The first beatitude starts where we are – poor in spirit. Our spiritual strength is truly empty striving. We can never give ourselves true and comprehensive spiritual peace by our own effort.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 (ESV)
Acknowledging our poverty of spirit is essential to the inheritance God has for us. Pride gets in the way. We like to think we are self-sufficient, and that fulfillment of our lives depends on our striving. Working to improve our lives, learning to get ahead, seeking inner peace through any possible means while focusing these efforts on ourselves is bound to be frustrating and empty.
Instead, we must focus on the power and provision of God.
The unexpected blessing
We might think that being poor in spirit has no future. The idea that we are helpless and hopeless spiritually in our own nature does not sound very inspiring. But it is this very attitude that leads to personal transformation.
When we embrace the idea of our great need of spiritual life, we open ourselves up to the infinite riches of God’s grace. To the degree that we hold onto our pride and self-sufficiency, we forfeit God’s greatest blessing.
Coming to God empty and needy, knowing we need him, allows him to do a full work in our lives. From this starting point, he works by his Spirit in our lives to change everything! We partake of his grace as we believe and become citizens of heaven. He changes our environment from an earthly frustration into an eternal glory.
If you have ever known someone who could be described as a man or woman of God, you have known someone who is poor in spirit. What you are seeing in their lives is the Spirit of God shining through their submission and bringing glory to his name.
As we continue to follow Jesus, we experience more and more of that glorious kingdom. From a small light as we begin into an overpowering presence of God as we pass from our temporary home here into our eternal dwelling.
Our response
Giving up our pride is hard. We want to control our lives and circumstances. We want to make our own decisions and chart our own courses. But if we want to become part of God’s kingdom, we must abandon our own agenda. We must admit that we cannot fix ourselves. We must admit that we have nothing to give to him except our emptiness and our faith.
From here, we can begin to grow and develop. We can respond to his blessing with gratitude, worship and complete allegiance to our new kingdom – the kingdom of heaven!