Blessed Are the Poor (Devotional Day 37)
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
The verse above is explained by Matthew 7:7-11. For more on the outline of the Sermon on the Mount, see The Key to the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 7:7-11
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
In the verses above, we find a truth that we in the American church fail to grasp over and over again: God likes to keep us asking, seeking, and knocking. He likes us to be poor in spirit, and he doesn’t mind if we have to be literally poor and without a penny to our name if that is what it takes to make us poor in spirit. For being poor leads us into stronger relationship with Him and even dependence upon Him. In fact, being poor keeps us right where he wants us – close to Him!
And yet, I can’t tell you the number of times (dozens? hundreds?) I have heard that if things aren’t going well in your life or if you are not prospering financially, then God is displeased with you somehow or you are lacking in faith. Proponents of the so-called “prosperity gospel” completely ignore much of what Jesus taught and modeled to us when he walked the earth in the flesh.
Please don’t get me wrong or misunderstand me – I am not saying that we serve a vindictive God who oppresses His people to keep them poor and impoverished. What I am saying is that our financial prosperity is not nearly as important to God as our relationship with Him. So yes, it is true in a sense that God wants to prosper us, after all He does love us and wants what’s best for us. In fact, He often does prosper us so that we can learn to bless others and give generously and be good stewards over the resources He has given us.
But do we really need to hear the “prosperity gospel” over and over again while hardly ever mentioning that God calls us to forsake everything to follow him? Can we really buy into a prosperity gospel when Jesus himself lived an impoverished lifestyle and he very pointedly sent his disciples out without a moneybelt or anything except the clothes on their backs? Can we really ignore what Jesus said to the rich young ruler and what he said about rich people not entering into the kingdom of heaven? When we stand before Him face-to-face will we have the guts to tell him that he didn’t really mean it when he told us to give to whoever asks and loan to whoever wants to borrow? We have ignored much of Jesus’ teaching to our own detriment and even to our own peril if we’re not careful.
Jesus likes it when we ask, seek, and knock. He likes it when we give everything away and are unencumbered by the cares of this world. He likes it when we come to an end of ourselves, for that is when he shows himself strong. Have you ever wondered why there are so many more miracles in impoverished nations than there are in more wealthy nations? It is because they have no where else to turn except to God! They are forced to keep asking, keep knocking, keep seeking after God because they have no other options. And when they pursue relationship with Him in this way, He comes through for them!
People in wealthier circumstances, though, don’t even think to ask God about where their next meal will come from. They don’t seek Him about shelter for the night or healing for their bodies or clothes for their backs because they already have it all covered with their bank accounts and health insurance. And they don’t bother to knock on the door and ask the Lord about their future opportunities as they already have it all mapped out without His help or input. Besides, if they did ask Him about things like these He might challenge them to give more money away or do more for the single mom next door or even go to Africa or Asia or somewhere where they might not be able to live so comfortably.
Many of us are like the rich young ruler, whether we will admit it to ourselves or not. Jesus is telling us to leave everything else behind and follow Him but we love our stuff too much to do that. So we walk away, shaking our heads and saying that He can’t be serious. We’ll just continue giving Him an hour or maybe even two hours each Sunday morning so that we can alleviate our consciences and dispel the fear of hellfire and brimstone. And by His grace He will likely forgive us and we’ll make it into eternity with Him, but it will be as one escaping through the flames. In terms of our earthly life we will have traded in our abundant life in Him for an abundance of worldly riches and creature comforts. We who live in prosperous nations have to be careful or we will be like Esau, trading in our birthright as sons of daughters of God for a bowl of soup.
So whatever life circumstances you find yourself in, make sure you are pursuing God – asking for His help, seeking after Him and His will in your life, and knocking on the door of His heart so that you might be more like Him. If you have a lot of worldly wealth, be open to giving to the poor and to worthy churches and organizations so that you might be more dependent upon Him. If you are currently without much worldly wealth, don’t despair or feel like God has forgotten you. On the contrary, you are right where He wants you – dependent upon Him and in a place where you will keep asking, seeking, and knocking. And that will keep you closer to Him.
By the way, the verb form that Jesus uses for “ask, seek, and knock” is one that indicates ongoing action, not simply a one-time action that is done and over with. It brings to mind the parable that Jesus taught about the widow that kept coming before the judge day after day in hopes of getting a favorable outcome (Luke 18:1-8). We are to be the same way – continually coming before God, asking and seeking and knocking so that we stay close to Him.
I know that this is a challenging message, and one that many of us, including me, will wrestle with for days and months and even years to come. I wouldn’t even write it, except I feel compelled to by the Spirit to do so and I know that just as in many other areas of my life, the Lord will show Himself strong in my weakness. Like the Apostle Paul, who had a thorn in his flesh that he had to contend with (2 Cor. 12:7-10), many of the things I have written about in my devotionals based on the Sermon on the Mount are like thorns in the flesh, things I have to live with but cannot do so except by God’s grace and help.
So please don’t ignore or reject outright what the Lord is speaking to you even now. The teaching of Jesus is clear, even if it is challenging and sometimes seemingly overwhelming or impossible. Rest assured that in your weakness He will show Himself strong, moment by moment, decision by decision, day by day. Just choose to follow Him and depend on Him again and again and again, even if it costs you worldly wealth and creature comforts.
For as you are in that position of asking over and over again, it will be given to you. As you are seeking Him continually, you will find Him and His will for your life. And as you knock, the door will be opened to you, and it will be more glorious than you could possibly imagine.
So go for it! Right now! Don’t waste another moment but begin talking to God about how you are going to live the rest of your life. Consider living a simple lifestyle so that you can give more away and be more in touch with the Lord. Ask Him about it, and He will lead you, and you won’t be sorry.
Pray with me: Lord, you know my heart, my personality, my strengths and weaknesses, my hidden fears. Help me to lay those aside and courageously follow you into everything that you have for me. Help me to give away what needs to be given, forsake those things I need to leave behind, and put everything I have into following you. I know you are worthy of it, and I will be better off, but I still have a hard time doing it. Help me with these issues I bring before you now…continue praying as you are led…
Meditate on these Scriptures:
Luke 16:21 Jesus, looking at his disciples, said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."
Luke 12:15-21 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."
"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
Luke 12:32-34 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
James 2:5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
Matt. 19:21 Jesus said to the rich young ruler, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Rev. 3:17 You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
For further study, click on the links below to find more resources:
The verse above is explained by Matthew 7:7-11. For more on the outline of the Sermon on the Mount, see The Key to the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 7:7-11
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
In the verses above, we find a truth that we in the American church fail to grasp over and over again: God likes to keep us asking, seeking, and knocking. He likes us to be poor in spirit, and he doesn’t mind if we have to be literally poor and without a penny to our name if that is what it takes to make us poor in spirit. For being poor leads us into stronger relationship with Him and even dependence upon Him. In fact, being poor keeps us right where he wants us – close to Him!
And yet, I can’t tell you the number of times (dozens? hundreds?) I have heard that if things aren’t going well in your life or if you are not prospering financially, then God is displeased with you somehow or you are lacking in faith. Proponents of the so-called “prosperity gospel” completely ignore much of what Jesus taught and modeled to us when he walked the earth in the flesh.
Please don’t get me wrong or misunderstand me – I am not saying that we serve a vindictive God who oppresses His people to keep them poor and impoverished. What I am saying is that our financial prosperity is not nearly as important to God as our relationship with Him. So yes, it is true in a sense that God wants to prosper us, after all He does love us and wants what’s best for us. In fact, He often does prosper us so that we can learn to bless others and give generously and be good stewards over the resources He has given us.
But do we really need to hear the “prosperity gospel” over and over again while hardly ever mentioning that God calls us to forsake everything to follow him? Can we really buy into a prosperity gospel when Jesus himself lived an impoverished lifestyle and he very pointedly sent his disciples out without a moneybelt or anything except the clothes on their backs? Can we really ignore what Jesus said to the rich young ruler and what he said about rich people not entering into the kingdom of heaven? When we stand before Him face-to-face will we have the guts to tell him that he didn’t really mean it when he told us to give to whoever asks and loan to whoever wants to borrow? We have ignored much of Jesus’ teaching to our own detriment and even to our own peril if we’re not careful.
Jesus likes it when we ask, seek, and knock. He likes it when we give everything away and are unencumbered by the cares of this world. He likes it when we come to an end of ourselves, for that is when he shows himself strong. Have you ever wondered why there are so many more miracles in impoverished nations than there are in more wealthy nations? It is because they have no where else to turn except to God! They are forced to keep asking, keep knocking, keep seeking after God because they have no other options. And when they pursue relationship with Him in this way, He comes through for them!
People in wealthier circumstances, though, don’t even think to ask God about where their next meal will come from. They don’t seek Him about shelter for the night or healing for their bodies or clothes for their backs because they already have it all covered with their bank accounts and health insurance. And they don’t bother to knock on the door and ask the Lord about their future opportunities as they already have it all mapped out without His help or input. Besides, if they did ask Him about things like these He might challenge them to give more money away or do more for the single mom next door or even go to Africa or Asia or somewhere where they might not be able to live so comfortably.
Many of us are like the rich young ruler, whether we will admit it to ourselves or not. Jesus is telling us to leave everything else behind and follow Him but we love our stuff too much to do that. So we walk away, shaking our heads and saying that He can’t be serious. We’ll just continue giving Him an hour or maybe even two hours each Sunday morning so that we can alleviate our consciences and dispel the fear of hellfire and brimstone. And by His grace He will likely forgive us and we’ll make it into eternity with Him, but it will be as one escaping through the flames. In terms of our earthly life we will have traded in our abundant life in Him for an abundance of worldly riches and creature comforts. We who live in prosperous nations have to be careful or we will be like Esau, trading in our birthright as sons of daughters of God for a bowl of soup.
So whatever life circumstances you find yourself in, make sure you are pursuing God – asking for His help, seeking after Him and His will in your life, and knocking on the door of His heart so that you might be more like Him. If you have a lot of worldly wealth, be open to giving to the poor and to worthy churches and organizations so that you might be more dependent upon Him. If you are currently without much worldly wealth, don’t despair or feel like God has forgotten you. On the contrary, you are right where He wants you – dependent upon Him and in a place where you will keep asking, seeking, and knocking. And that will keep you closer to Him.
By the way, the verb form that Jesus uses for “ask, seek, and knock” is one that indicates ongoing action, not simply a one-time action that is done and over with. It brings to mind the parable that Jesus taught about the widow that kept coming before the judge day after day in hopes of getting a favorable outcome (Luke 18:1-8). We are to be the same way – continually coming before God, asking and seeking and knocking so that we stay close to Him.
I know that this is a challenging message, and one that many of us, including me, will wrestle with for days and months and even years to come. I wouldn’t even write it, except I feel compelled to by the Spirit to do so and I know that just as in many other areas of my life, the Lord will show Himself strong in my weakness. Like the Apostle Paul, who had a thorn in his flesh that he had to contend with (2 Cor. 12:7-10), many of the things I have written about in my devotionals based on the Sermon on the Mount are like thorns in the flesh, things I have to live with but cannot do so except by God’s grace and help.
So please don’t ignore or reject outright what the Lord is speaking to you even now. The teaching of Jesus is clear, even if it is challenging and sometimes seemingly overwhelming or impossible. Rest assured that in your weakness He will show Himself strong, moment by moment, decision by decision, day by day. Just choose to follow Him and depend on Him again and again and again, even if it costs you worldly wealth and creature comforts.
For as you are in that position of asking over and over again, it will be given to you. As you are seeking Him continually, you will find Him and His will for your life. And as you knock, the door will be opened to you, and it will be more glorious than you could possibly imagine.
So go for it! Right now! Don’t waste another moment but begin talking to God about how you are going to live the rest of your life. Consider living a simple lifestyle so that you can give more away and be more in touch with the Lord. Ask Him about it, and He will lead you, and you won’t be sorry.
Pray with me: Lord, you know my heart, my personality, my strengths and weaknesses, my hidden fears. Help me to lay those aside and courageously follow you into everything that you have for me. Help me to give away what needs to be given, forsake those things I need to leave behind, and put everything I have into following you. I know you are worthy of it, and I will be better off, but I still have a hard time doing it. Help me with these issues I bring before you now…continue praying as you are led…
Meditate on these Scriptures:
Luke 16:21 Jesus, looking at his disciples, said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."
Luke 12:15-21 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."
"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
Luke 12:32-34 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
James 2:5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
Matt. 19:21 Jesus said to the rich young ruler, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Rev. 3:17 You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
For further study, click on the links below to find more resources:
To be a part of the conversation about the article above, or even if you just want to read what everyone else is saying about it, go to the Blessed Are the Poor Comments Page.
To be a part of the conversation about the article above, or even if you just want to read what everyone else is saying about it, go to the Keeping Your Word Pure Comments Page.
To leave your comments, helpful hints, and suggestions about this website overall, use the Comments section of Pastor Randy's blog.
To leave your comments, helpful hints, and suggestions about this website overall, use the Comments section of Pastor Randy's blog.
This article is Day 37 of the 40 Day Devotional; the next devotional is Day 38.
Please use this website for personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family. However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy Brockett. To contact Pastor Randy, email him at [email protected].
To be a part of the conversation about the article above, or even if you just want to read what everyone else is saying about it, go to the Keeping Your Word Pure Comments Page.
To leave your comments, helpful hints, and suggestions about this website overall, use the Comments section of Pastor Randy's blog.
To leave your comments, helpful hints, and suggestions about this website overall, use the Comments section of Pastor Randy's blog.
This article is Day 37 of the 40 Day Devotional; the next devotional is Day 38.
Please use this website for personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family. However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy Brockett. To contact Pastor Randy, email him at [email protected].