Poor in Spirit
Do you desire to be poor in spirit?
Verse of the Day
‘God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.’
Today’s Devotional
I was raised reading the New International Version of the Bible. In the NIV, this verse reads, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” It wasn’t until a few years ago, when doing a study of Emmet Fox’s book The Sermon on the Mount, that God allowed me to begin to understand the meaning of “poor in spirit.” This is the reason I love the translation above, because it explains the meaning of being poor every time I read it. Jesus is teaching us that we must realize our need for God if we want God’s blessing and to take ownership in the Kingdom.
Emmet Fox explains, “To be poor in spirit means to have emptied yourself of all desire to exercise personal self-will, and, what is just as important, to have renounced all preconceived opinions in the wholehearted search for God. It means to be willing to set aside your present habits of thought, your present views and prejudices, your present way of life if necessary; to jettison, in fact, anything that can stand in the way of your finding God.”
Fox further describes those who are poor in spirit. “They have got rid of the love of money and property, of fear of public opinion, and of the disapproval of relatives or friends. They are no longer overawed by human authority, however august. They are no longer cocksure in their own opinions. They have come to see that their most cherished beliefs may have been and probably were mistaken, and that all their ideas and views of life may be false and in need of recasting. They are ready to start again at the very beginning and learn life anew.”
Perhaps this description fits with Jesus’s teaching about being born again. We are invited to die to our old way of thinking, living, and believing. We are encouraged to be so completely open minded to God that He can mold us in whatever manner He sees fit.
This is no easy task. This forces us to loosen our grip on everything we think we know. Without help, I cannot change anything about myself. At least not for very long. Which makes me step back into awareness of how much I need God. If we believe Colossians 1:17, then we concede that everything in life is held together by Jesus, making every breath I take possible only because Jesus allowed it. If I need Jesus to be able to breathe, how much more do I need Him to live a life worthy of my calling? How much more do I need to invite Him into every decision I make? How much more do I need to ask Him to help me capture my thoughts and make them obedient to Him?
We need God for everything whether we realize it or not. The truly poor in spirit are the people who live each moment fully aware of their need.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How would you describe being poor in spirit? What would it look like in your life?
How can you invite God to help you be emptied of self-will?
What holds you back from acknowledging your need for God?
How has God proven to you that you need Him?
What is Jesus teaching you today?