Blessed Are The Poor in Spirit

In Matthew chapter 5, we find at the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount a portion of His teaching that is commonly referred to as “The Beatitudes.”  Over the next several weeks, we will be studying this passage of Scripture together as we seek to understand what it looks like for us to aspire to live in such a way as the following verses describe.

“Seeing the crowds, He [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him.  And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
-Matthew 5:1-12

In order to best understand each beatitude for itself, I think we ought to take a look at them in the context of the whole passage.  Each of the eight beatitudes begin with the phrase “blessed are.”  Isn’t that what we all truly want? Inside us all is the desire to have our lives be filled with blessing and reward. Would you read through our passage again and take note of the blessings listed:

The Kingdom of heaven
Comfort
Inheritance
Satisfaction
Mercy
Knowing God by sight
Adoption into God’s family

In the wake of the heartbreaking loss you have suffered, do these blessings seem too good to be true? Under the weight of the enormous burden of grief you bear, does it even seem imaginable to be filled with comfort, and satisfaction? Dear one, Christ has made it possible for these blessings to be eternally and perfectly yours. 

For to those who have put their faith in Christ as Lord, the power of the kingdom of God is already at work within you. Take a moment to marvel at this wondrous news. Sorrow is not the end of your story. No! Indeed you have been promised infinite reward in Christ.

And to those who have not chosen to receive Christ as Lord, this passage serves as an appeal to become the recipient of this life that is eternally overflowing with blessing. As you study this passage with us over the next several weeks, you are being invited to become a person who is poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure, and peaceable. By the power and grace of God, you too can share in the richness of the kingdom of heaven.

So let’s begin.  Let us discover what our Savior desires to teach us about sharing in His kingdom.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
-Matthew 5:3

I remember sitting in the waiting room of my doctor’s office waiting to be called back for my ultrasound.  There were three other mothers in the room with me, each waiting for their own appointment. I tried to focus on the book I had brought with me to read, but I couldn’t help overhearing each of these other women complaining about their pregnancies. I truly felt sorry that they were unable to recognize the gift of life that they carried within their beautifully growing bodies. As they continued to speak of the inconvenience and discomfort they were experiencing as a result of their unwanted pregnancies, I quietly prayed that the Lord would change their perspective and help them love these precious babes with the sacrificial love of Christ.

In that moment I had no idea that just a few minutes later I would find out that my own beloved child had gone to be with the Lord.

This was not the first time I had experienced the loss of a child. Oh, what a battle arose in my heart on that day! As I sat in my OB’s office following that heartbreaking ultrasound, trying to collect myself for long enough to call my husband and tell him the terrible news, a seed of bitterness slowly worked its way into my thoughts. 

I do not deserve this!Of all the women at this office right now, I am the only one who wanted my baby!Haven’t I endured enough?How can I possibly go through this again?You can’t do this to me! Not again!

When we make demands of God, our hearts move towards bitterness, resentment, and anger.

In those first moments of my grief, I was far from being poor in spirit. I felt as though I had been wronged and treated unfairly. But God gently bid me to come before Him in humility. In His loving kindness toward me, He beckoned me to keep my eyes focused on Him.

“My dear child, stop looking at yourself and what you think you deserve. It is not you that holds the universe together, I do. You do not direct the future, I do. But I am with you. I will sustain you. Trust in me.”

As I kept my gaze fixed on Jesus, the more aware I became of my own unworthiness, and was able to recognize the undeserving provision I had been granted by Him. And when my heart came to the place where I could sincerely call out, “He must increase, and I must decrease” (John 3:30). I was able to let go of lie of believing that I deserved better from God than what He had given me. 

Being poor in spirit is the attitude of believing that you owe everything to the Lord. When we are poor in spirit, we know that we cannot repay God for everything He has done for us, and we realize that God owes us nothing, even though He has given us everything through the death and resurrection of His only Son. This way of thinking and living delivers us from believing the lie that we deserve better than what we have right now. 

To help us understand this better, let’s take a look at a few examples from Scripture of men who displayed this poverty of spirit in the way they interacted with God and the world that He has made:

Job
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees You;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”
-Job 42:5–6

David
“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from You, and of Your own have we given You.”
-1 Chronicles 29:14

Isaiah
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
-Isaiah 6:5

The Centurion
“Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to You.”
-Luke 7:6-7

Paul
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life.
–1 Timothy 1:15–16

These men recognized that they were powerless in and of themselves and helpless before God. They understood that they were sinners deserving of death. They knew that any good in them was only possible by the grace of God.

And the truth is, we all are. We are all powerless, helpless, and unworthy before the Lord. But the blessings of the kingdom of God only come to those sincerely recognize and admit their insufficiency, weakness and emptiness. 

That is why the beatitudes are such a far cry from the life we are enticed to pursue by the world. The world tells us to hide your failure, boost your self-confidence, and overcome any deficiency through hard work and resolve. But this is not the message of the gospel. 

Brave sister, it is natural to believe that you deserve better than what you have experienced. It is natural to feel as though God robbed you of what is rightfully yours. But the reality is we deserve nothing, and everything we have been given is all grace. Will you cast yourself helpless and unworthy into God’s loving embrace? This is where true blessing lies. For when you come before God poor in spirit, the blessings of His kingdom await you.