FAMILIES SHARING HOPE
  • Blog
  • Resource Links
  • Books
    • News to Make You Weep
  • Prayer Requests
  • Contact
  • Connecting with Community

blessed are the poor in spirit

3/31/2015

0 Comments

 
Oh how I wish I were the sort of person who wakes each morning excited to jump out of bed and begin thanking God for every challenge and blessing the day might bring. But I confess I am more the sort of person who smiles at the beautiful sunrise and only really focuses on my relationship with God when I find my heart's tires are under-inflated or my life's engine is coughing up the hill.

I think this is what Jesus was referring to when he said, blessed are the poor in spirit; for their is the kingdom of heaven. I may manage to keep setting aside time for devotions, Bible reading, prayer, fasting, journaling, meditating, corporate worship, Sunday School classes and other established forms of personal disciplines and still feel far from God, feel I am "just going through the motions", wonder if my faith is "enough". I can feed the homeless, visit those in prison, tend the dying, show up at the nursing homes, light the altar candles at church, lead a Bible class and yet be overwhelmed with a sense that I can't make a dent in the needs I see, be ashamed of my limitations and feel uncertain if I'm in the right place. But it is that very questioning, struggling, longing for more that draws us further along.

In other words, it is our own sense of being poor or low in spirit that nudges or drives or calls us to new dependence on God, new ways of understanding scripture, new ideas about prayer or how we could expand a ministry, or see the need to pass a ministry on to the next person God is calling to that work, or have our eyes opened to whom we should invite to work beside us, or how we might approach a struggling loved one. It is the springboard to stretching and growing and refining our capacity to trust, to love, to serve, to fulfill our purpose(s) over our time here on earth. 

I believe that being poor in spirit is an indication of an unrealized capacity to more fully experience the kingdom of heaven in our own lives. I believe it is the capacity to be more rather than do more, although doing something new is often an effective catalyst to get things rolling.

So when we feel frustrated, let us neither beat ourselves up, nor give up, nor "soldier on", but rather let us slow down, thoughtfully contemplate, share with a trusted friend, wait with both confidence and a prayerful willingness to change. Let us anticipate with confidence the possibility of a new direction or an adjustment in emphasis or a sense of renewal and refreshment or simply the opportunity to rest more fully in the Grace of the kingdom heaven.

Most Loving and Trustworthy God, thank You for getting my attention when I am running off with more enthusiasm than judgement, more reliance on my own ability rather than Your direction, more self-righteousness than humility. Pour Your Spirit into my heart to guard against anything that distracts me from serving You in all I do. AMEN

The Beatitudes can be found in Matthew 5: 1-12. Verse 3 reads: Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    CHECK IT OUT:
    BOOKS TAB 
    ​News Tab


    For information on meetings use the "contact" button above or call Jann @ 816-896-9815


    Author

    Jann's son was incarcerated.  She longed for a community where she could connect with others dealing with similar issues.

    Categories

    All

    Archives

    April 2022
    March 2022
    July 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.