The Beatitudes: The Poor in Spirit

by    16th March 2003    0 responses
Part of the series

Matthew 5:3   Expand passage

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

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Being poor in spirit, does not mean that you have to be a small, pathetic and powerless Christian who struggles constantly, and never experiences any victory. We are all poor in spirit, it’s just that some of us have the power of God behind us, and overtaking us. His power not just covers our weaknesses, but it improves us, and empowers us to live an awesome life.

Peter, Paul, Moses, Abraham, David and any other person from the Bible you can think of, were all poor in spirit, but they definitely experienced the kingdom of heaven as the above verse says they would. They had power and wisdom to heal, to rule nations, to perform mighty miracles and to escape some very difficult and dangerous situations. They did this through the power of God, not through their own spirits.

Lets take a closer look at one of these people I mentioned.

Exodus 3:10-12
“So now, go. I am sending you to Pharoah to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharoah and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

And he did. Moses was successful in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, and he did indeed, worship God on that very mountain.

So lets think about this: God says to Moses, “Hey, you’re going to do this impossible thing for me.” And Moses says, “No way! I can’t do that!” But God says, “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you, you’ll see, it’ll all be fine.”

Moses is poor in spirit, his initial reaction to God’s calling, is NO! He didn’t believe he could do it, he was humble and lowly. And yet, even though he was these things, he achieved everything just as God said he would. How? “I will be with you.” Says God, and He’s saying that to you as well.

Don’t be fooled by the devil, he may very well try and trick you into thinking that being poor in spirit, means you can have no victory or success. It’s just not true. A person who is really poor in spirit, is someone who knows that on their own they can do nothing, but in Christ can do all things (Philippians 4:13).

Do you want to possess the kingdom of heaven? I believe that poverty in spirit is an attitude, a revelation, an understanding, and even a dependence upon God. We need to realise that God is the source of every good thing, it’s nothing to do with us. We need to be humble, we need to stop elevating ourselves above our position, to stop making ourselves equal to, and even sometimes above God. We need to give the glory to Him, and not keep it for ourselves.

Look at this example, I think that most people would agree that someone preaching to ten thousand people, couldn’t do it without God’s help. But what about someone preaching to a thousand people, or a hundred, or even just ten? We think that because some tasks are easier than others, we need God in varying amounts. However, I believe that we need God’s help to do even the most simple of things.

I need His help to write this article, because I don’t know what you the reader, needs; what help you require or what teaching God wants to give you. I need to lean on, and trust in Him, or this article won’t bless anyone.

What do you need God’s help with? Think about it for a second, what would your answer be? The truth is, your answer should be “everything!” I need God’s help to do everything, to get out of bed, to cross the road, to get to work safely, to preach, to be a faithful servant, I need God in everything I do. People don’t like to be dependant on anyone or anything, they tend to desperately hang on to their independence, as if it’s something worth hanging on to. Jesus told us to build our house on rock, not on quicksand. Jesus is the only rock that won’t fail you; people, and possessions, and money will let you down, but God will never let you down.

To be fully dependant on God, is to be secure and provided for. There’s no pressure or worry, for you know that God is taking care of everything! When something goes wrong, “Oh don’t worry, God will take care of it.” If someone hurts or upsets you, “It’s okay, God will deal with them and help me forgive them.” Careful though, don’t forget that we have a part to play as well. It’s good to depend on God, as long as we remember that we have to take responsibility sometimes too. We are partners with God, in the sense that He has a part, and we have a part. He will always do His part, are you doing yours? Being poor in spirit means that God’s strength can flow in your weakness, where we fall short, He covers up and overtakes. Don’t be ashamed of what you can’t do, glorify God in what He CAN do!

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Andy has been a Christian since his teens when he began to develop his relationship with God. He is an Elder in his local church and leads a home group. Andy has a passion for teaching and writing. He lives near Southend, Essex, with his wife. Andy is responsible for writing much of the content on Crossring.

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