“Everything is going against me!” (Genesis 42:36 NLT)
Ever feel like that? Where things just keep building up, when everywhere you turn seems to be the wrong way, everything you try to do is going wrong, and there seems to be no way out, and you’ve finally hit your breaking point.
That’s where Jacob was. Among some of the calamities his family encountered, his son Joseph had gone missing when out looking for his brothers (or so he was led to believe), his son Simeon was being held prisoner in Egypt (due to an attempt to get some food for the family during a severe drought), and now his remaining sons were telling him they needed to take the youngest son, Benjamin, to Egypt with them in order to get Simeon back. Was there no end to the madness?
The loss of a loved one. The loss of a job, and with that your insurance. The diagnosis of a dangerous, debilitating disease. Bills stacking up, having to decide which is the most important to pay this month. On and on it goes, and you’re ready to pull your hair out.
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” (Matthew 5:3 MSG)
To be “poor in spirit” means to recognize where you are in your spiritual walk with the Lord, and your need for him on a daily basis. Or as noted by Colin Smith, it means “that you recognize your poverty before God.” (Reference 1)
Where Do We Go From Here?
Moses was talented in many areas of life; he was highly educated and had led successful military campaigns while in the Egyptian army. However, he was unable to rely on his knowledge of military tactics when leading the nation of Israel out of Egypt. They were untrained, unarmed, and unable to escape because they were backed up against the Red Sea.
Hezekiah was king over Judah when an invasion from the Assyrians, the dominant world power at the time, occurred. The city of Jerusalem was surrounded. No one could enter or leave the city, and access to food supplies cut off. It was only a matter of time before the people would starve and be forced to surrender.
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were caught refusing to bow down to the false idol created by King Nebuchadnezzar. The penalty for such actions were to be tied up and thrown into a fire to be burned to death. No defense or excuses accepted.
Regardless of their talent, position of power, intellect, and strength, all the above were in impossible to get out of situations. They definitely qualify as “why me?” circumstances. Yet when forced into a corner, because of their faith and trust in the Lord, they knew to call on him instead of relying on their own resources. The end result was God conquered the Egyptian army, freeing the Israelites from slavery; he conquered the Assyrian army by killing 185,000 of them overnight; he protected Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from the fire without a burn.
To be poor in spirit is where the blessing of God begins. This is the gateway blessing that leads to all the others, and without this none of the other blessings can be reached. People who feel they have something to offer God come to Him with their hands full, but as long as our hands are full, we are not in a position to receive. Watson says, “If the hand is full of pebbles, it cannot receive gold.” People who are poor in spirit drop the pebbles because they want the gold and they know that it can only be received by empty-handed believers. When you know that you have nothing to offer God, you are in a position to receive all that He offers to you. The blessing of God belongs not to those who list their demands, but to the poor in spirit who humble themselves before Him. (Reference 2)
There are so many “whys” we have in our life that can sometimes bring us to the end of our rope. I certainly have had some I hadn’t planned on. God has us go through things and oftentimes we have no idea why, like Job. Then there are times we are able to look back and see the reason, like Joseph.
But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt. (Genesis 45:5-8 NLT)
Each day we are given the opportunity of how we will approach our Lord, with our hands full of pebbles, or empty-handed. Since we’ve learned we are dependent on our Creator for all things, we know there is nothing we can truly offer him that he needs. It is the one who goes to him with empty hands who can receive the blessings he offers.
References 1 & 2
“Momentum, Pursuing God’s Blessings Through the Beatitudes” by Colin S. Smith
The “Watson” comment from Momentum reference is:
Watson, The Beatitudes, 43.
Reflections 