BEATITUDE #1:
“Blessed are the POOR IN SPIRIT, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
“Poor in spirit” means to be humble, and devoid of pride. Humility is the realization that all your gifts and blessings come from the grace of God, bringing one an inner peace that allows one to do the will of God. These people keenly feel their inadequacies. unworthiness, and helplessness without God’s grace. They don’t try to hide these things under a ‘cloak’ of self-sufficiency, but are honest and grieved about them—driving them into the ‘arms’ of God.
This does not refer to physical poverty. Sometimes riches do often ‘trip up’ people. The self-sufficiency of the rich causes them to be complacent about searching for God, but a poor person’s circumstances give them a ‘running start’ in the spiritual realm, since their desperate circumstances will often led him to seek God fervently.
However, “poor in spirit” does refer to spiritual poverty, and they realize that they have no resources that will get them into Heaven. They are spiritually ‘destitute’ and therefore are totally dependent on God’s grace (In sharp contrast to what the world says, “Happy are the rich, famous, self-sufficient, and proud”). God identifies with people who are spiritual ‘beggars’, not with those who are arrogant and self-sufficient—and ‘receives’ those who cry out for His mercy (Luke 18:10-13). There must be a deep ‘submission’ and an ‘emptying’ of self before you can be ‘filled’ by God.
Admitting your weaknesses is the beginning of happiness—and one of the hardest things you will ever do. To know true happiness you must first be poor in spirit and acknowledge you can do nothing on your own.
When you are poor in spirit, you will praise and thank God for His grace in the knowledge that everything you have is a gift from Him. There is no arrogance in them, no self-righteousness, no self-sufficiency—free from their own pretensions.
They realize that they bring nothing of their own power, possession, or merit that would contribute to receiving the Kingdom of Heaven. So, they depend totally on God’s wisdom, and not their own (Proverbs 14:12), and depend on God’s ‘strength’ (Psalm 94:22).
The paradox of depending on God is that the more weak one is, the more one should depend on God; and the more one depends on God, the stronger one gets! The prophet Isaiah put it this way: “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” [ Isaiah 40:31 ].
A person that is “poor in spirit” also depends on God’s ‘timing’—knowing that while they are ‘waiting’, God is ‘working’ (in the ‘background’), and that a delay is not necessarily a denial. They trust that God will provide at the proper time. Again, the prophet Isaiah states: “At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen” [ Isaiah 60:22 ]. God always gives His best to those who wait! Just beware, Satan will try to make you settle for ‘second best’, and if you get in a hurry and try to ‘answer’ your own prayer, you will probably make a terrible mistake.
A person “poor in spirit” will also depend on God to ‘defend’ them—so they don’t ‘respond’ to unfair attacks or unjust criticism. (“God blesses and protects all those who run to Him” [ Psalm 2:12 ]).
This person also depends on God to supply all their needs. Their job is a ‘channel’, but God is their ‘source’ of their supply. (“And my God will supply all my needs from His abundant wealth, because of what Christ Jesus has done for me” [ Philippians 4:19 ]).
If you want to know true happiness you must be poor in spirit. That means you must understand your spiritual helplessness. If you recognize your spiritual poverty, you will possess the kingdom of heaven now. Augustus Toplady summed all that up in the hymn “Rock of Ages”: “Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling.”
When a person understands who they are in light of who God is, only humility toward God can result.
Does ‘humility of spirit’ mark your life right now?
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FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT #2:
JOY
The Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, states that “we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Webster’s defines “happy” as synonymous with “joy” and “a very glad feeling; great pleasure; and “enjoyment because of your life, particular situation, or event.”
The thing is, happiness has to do with circumstances, but even Webster’s notes that joy is a sense of “great happiness”—something ‘higher’ and deeper than happiness or pleasure. The Greek word for joy, used in Galatians, is “chara,” which adds the nuance of well-being, a calm delight or a profound gladness—making it a deep inner quality. The verb form of “chara” is “rejoice.”
Everyone wants to be “joyful” and most people try to ‘achieve it’ in varying ways and intensities. Some seek it in athletic endeavors, hobbies, travel, dancing, fashion, home improvements, wealth, status, alcohol, food or drugs. Except for a brief period of satisfaction and sense of well-being, no matter how ‘secure’ the sources of our joy seem, they all fall short long term—failing to fill that empty ‘place’ inside us.
In the Bible, King Solomon conducted a series of ‘experiments’ in his quest to discover, by practical experience and analysis, how to get the most and best out out of his life.
He searched in his heart on how to gratify his flesh with wine, great works, gardens and orchards, all kinds of fruit trees, waterpools, male and female servants, herds and flocks, silver and gold, special treasures, male and female singers, and musical instruments of all kinds. He became great, very wise, and excelled more than all who were before him in Jerusalem. Whatever his eyes desired he did not keep from acquiring it. He did not withhold himself from any pleasure. But, when he looked at all his works and labors, he came to the conclusion that “all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.”
Solomon admitted that his quest rewarded him with a certain amount of joy, but he still found it unsatisfactory. We might think that with all his wealth, good health, and discerning mind, he would have had joy in abundance. But that was not true. His ultimate conclusion was that only ‘in’ God can we experience ‘real’ joy.
The thing is, today, believers are given something Solomon did not possess all the time—the Holy Spirit—and as a result, our satisfaction comes from Him and not from favorable circumstances.
When we let the Word of God dwell within us richly, we will be filled with the Spirit and the “Fruit of the Spirit” will be manifested in us. Joy will be present in our lives because the quality of our relationships with God and others will be godly and consistently based on love.
Joy is gladness from experiencing a right relationship with God and ‘fellowship’ with others. Joy comes from seeing God ‘work’ in all things—even in our struggles and hardships.
Biblical joy is inseparable from our relationship with God and springs from our knowledge and understanding of the purpose of life and the hope of living with God for eternity when there will be joy forevermore. If God is actually present in our lives, His joy can be in us (Psalm 16:11). Joy is the sign that we have found our purpose, our reason for being! This then allows us to have joy even during hardships. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” [ James 1:2–3 ].
Now, this does not mean we have joy because of the pain and torment of a ‘storm’ of life. It means that we have joy because of our relationship with God, and have faith in His promises, protection, and provision. In ‘tough’ times we are told by the prophet Nehemiah that, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” [ Nehemiah 8:10 ].
We can ‘seek’ joy all we want, but we will not find ‘true’ joy merely by seeking pleasurable excitement. The greatest of joys, however, are those that arise when we are so absorbed in some creative task that we are set free from self-concern—yielding wholeheartedly to the creative purpose God ‘working’ joy into our lives.
Jesus has great joy when He sees ‘growth’ in us—and wants to share His joy with us. This joy is based on being rightly related to God and to one another; the delight of watching God’s work unfold in one another’s lives; and the satisfaction of helping each other become the Christ-like men and women we were created to be.
This kind of joy just doesn’t happen. It ‘flows’ when we let the Word of Christ dwell richly within us, and we seek to be ‘filled’ with God’s Spirit—when we let Jesus lead us into deep and honest connections with others, and when we begin to delight in God’s continual work in our lives and the lives of others.
“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another…Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ” [ 1 Peter 4:10, 11).
It appears that for us to experience biblical joy, the fruit of God’s Spirit, we need godly inner qualities that we do not possess by ‘nature’. As with love—the love that springs from us naturally is but a pale reflection of God’s love—so also is it with joy. Until we come to the point where, by faith, we are supremely confident of God’s presence in our life—of His providence toward us in the past, present and future—we will not experience the enduring fullness of satisfaction God wants us to have.
This joy is a delight of the mind arising from the consideration of a present or assured possession of a future good. When joy is moderate it is called “gladness.” When our desires are limited by our possessions our joy is contentment. When joy has so long possessed the mind that it has settled into the deepest part of our being, we call it “cheerfulness.” When it is raised to the highest degree of joy it is “exultation.” This is natural godly joy.
There is a ‘moral’ joy that arises from our good actions or behavior. This kind of joy is called peace, or serenity of conscience. If this godly behavior is honorable and our joy rises higher, it may be called “glorious”—and we credit God for its presence in our life.
Just before Jesus was crucified, He promised the disciples (and us) that He would “pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” [ John 14:16 ]. This is the Holy Spirit—the third ‘person’ of the Trinity (God) that comes to live ‘inside’ you when you are reconciled to God the Father. He is your “advocate,” reminds you all what Jesus taught, guides you to all truth, and assists you in living a joyful life!
Relationship with the Spirit is essential to any real joy you will ever have!.
