Desperate
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3, NIV)
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. (Psalm 34:6, NIV)
In my last post, we began a study of the word blessed. Psalm One tells us that God’s blessings come to those who reject worldly thinking and worldly ways and pattern their lives after God’s ways as found in His Word. Like well-watered trees, their leaves never wither, and their lives bear fruit for God’s kingdom.
Today, we’re going to focus on the first beatitude or blessing found in the opening words of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount - - “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Some of you may have noticed I missed Monday’s post. We had a great time with our children last week. Beach trips, deep-sea fishing, a ropes course, putt-putt, a local concert by Three Doors Down, and late nights were the highlights of the week. I was so busy, I flat out forgot about Monday’s post. In fact, I spent my entire Monday in recovery mode. I was worn out and exhausted. You might say I was poor in spirit.
But as tired as I was, I was also content. As the saying goes, Some call it chaos; we call it family!
Content, fulfilled, satisfied. These are the words that best describe what Jesus means by the word blessed. But exactly how are the poor in spirit blessed? The answer is found in the use of this word, poor, in several places throughout the Old Testament, and I want to call your attention to a well-known psalm.
In Psalm 34:6, David is describing his experience hiding from King Saul among Israel’s mortal enemies, the Philistines. David was persona non grata among the Philistines. He killed their champion, Goliath, with a sling and a stone and led Israel to many glorious victories while serving under Saul. But Saul’s murderous jealousy drove David into hiding, and, in time, he was forced to leave Israel and hide out among his enemies.
To avoid being run through with the sword by the Philistine king, Abimelek, David feigned madness, pretending to be insane. He staggered around, mumbling incoherently, drool running down his beard. He was desperate, and in his desperation, he abandoned all self-pride, casting himself completely upon God for deliverance.
And God did indeed deliver David. As he says in Psalm 34:6, he called out to the Lord, and the Lord heard him and delivered him out of all his troubles.
Some of us, maybe most, have experienced the same thing. Desperate, with nowhere else to turn, back against the wall, we cry out to God, casting ourselves completely on Him. And God answers our cry. His presence and power fill our lives, delivering us from or through our circumstances.
This is the blessing that comes to those who are poor in spirit. Those who realize how utterly dependent they are on God.
I wish I could say I live my life in the daily awareness of my utter dependence on God. I don’t. But I am learning. And the more I acknowledge how much I need Him, the more God’s presence fills my spirit with an unspeakable joy.
This is what Jesus means when he says the poor in spirit are blessed.
In Christ,
Dan
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