The Poor in Spirit

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of God (Matt. 5:2).

What does it mean to be "poor in spirit"?  Those who know they have no resource other than God are the poor in spirit.  They know they cannot depend on their own strength, their courage, their "bootstraps," their money, or anything else.  The mother whose son is in prison is poor in spirit.  The man whose wife left him for another man is poor in spirit.  The mother whose teen-aged daughter scorns her is poor in spirit -- unless we think we can fight these battles with our own weapons: anger, revenge, resentment, complaining, begging, etc.  Then we are not "poor in spirit;" we are still counting on something other than God to fight our battles.

One of my favorite Biblical accounts is the story of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah (2 Chronicles 19-20).  At one point in his reign, he was told that a vast army of Moabites and Ammonites were coming from across the Jordan River to conquer Jerusalem and to take its people captive.  Jehoshaphat's first response was to "inquire of the Lord," and he called together the people from every town in Judah to seek help from the Lord.  Jehoshaphat stood up in the Temple and cried out to God:

...if calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague, or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.  .....For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.  We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you (2 Chr. 20: 9 & 12).

As the people stood there as one, waiting for instructions from the Lord, the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men present.  "Listen,.....," he said to the king and to the people; "this is what the Lord says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army.  For the battle is not yours, but God's'."

This is what it means to be poor in spirit: to know that unless God is your strength and your salvation, you have no hope; to stand and wait for the counsel of God, and not to depend on man. 

Isaiah constantly warned those living in Jerusalem not to depend on Egypt for help when they were threatened by the Babylonians.  He tells the people that God is "the refuge of the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat" (25:4).  He also tells them:

[Yahweh] will keep in perfect peace

him whose mind is steadfast,

because he trusts in you (26:3).

To be poor in spirit is to know that God will provide.  To be poor in spirit is to wait upon the Lord and trust not in princes.  When Joseph was warned that Herod was seeking the life of the Child, he had no weapons, no army, nothing with which he could defend Mary and Jesus.  But he knew God, and it was the angel of the Lord who warned him to take the family and flee.  It was God who had sent the wise men with gifts of gold, frankincense and myhrr -- all expensive gifts which could be sold to supply their needs on the flight into Egypt.  They had all they needed, because God Himself was their Source of strength and supply.

To be poor in spirit is to be wealthy beyond all measure, for the kingdom of heaven is [ours].