Perhaps some of you have heard a
popular Christian song on the airwaves that has the phrase, "I'm desperate for You, I'm desperate for You, I'm lost
without You, I'm desperate for You!" It is sung passionately to our Great God.
Did you know that the Bible speaks
of this same wonderful Joy that God gives to a person when he or she
is truly desperate for Him?. Looking at the relevant text found
in the gospels we find the following:"Blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew
5:3) What exactly is the Lord speaking
of in the above beatitude? Firstly, it must be understood that, "Blessed"
means, how happy! Well, to begin with all of us understand
that,"poor" denotes having little
or not enough.In short, it implies
that one is in need.The Lord
says the ones that have this "spiritual" poverty are blessed or truly
happy.Have you ever been "desperate" for something?The athlete who has exerted himself strenuously, losing vital
electrolytes and water, becomes desperate for replenishment otherwise he can dehydrate and suffer weakness even to the point of death.The same is true of the desert nomad who, without knowing the location of the nearest water source and availing himself of it, can die.A person who cannot breathe on his own desperately
needs CPR and/or the oxygen tank.A man
needs to know that without God, he will die.Applying this understanding to our spiritual lives, we see that only
people who realize that they desperately need the Lord and draw nigh unto Him are blessed
to the point of being able to receive the kingdom of Heaven.Do you feel poor as you stand or
kneel before the Lord?Are you
desperate for the Lord God of Heaven and Earth as you go through your
day (and night)?Again, the thought
here is a spiritual one.
Brokeness in Spirit
It is more than just an admonition
to stay humble. In the Scriptures,
the Lord repeatedly tells us that He is near to those who are broken
in spirit and contrite in heart. (Ps.
34:18, Ps 51:17, Is. 57:15, Is. 66:2) A constant
awareness of our utter unworthiness in and of oneself and a corresponding
urgent need for the Lord equals spiritual poverty. It is a way of life that one chooses, intentional and not just incidental.The rebuke the Lord gave to King
Saul through the prophet Samuel was that when he was, "little in his
own sight", God made him great. (1Samuel 15:17) He was doing well when he knew
he was nothing without God.We
know the tragic and awful end of Saul as he chose to become big and
proud and self-sufficient in his own sight.He foolishly thought he could live and act independently of God
and His Life-giving commands.He
was not poor in spirit.How many of us are no longer, "small
in our own sight"?Perhaps, we
have gained some blessings from the Lord, spiritual and material.Perhaps, we have gained a little more Bible
knowledge or have been used of the Lord in some good works.That's all well and good. But we are no longer poor in spirit.No longer "small" and needy in our own sight
and in the sight of our Lord.We
have lost sight of the truth that without Jesus we can do nothing.We have chosen to forget that we are desperately
impoverished without Him.The
truth however, is that we will always be in desperate need of His Presence and Goodness.
The Lord
is Vital to our Spiritual Existence as well as our Physical Life
We need the Lord Jesus as desperately
as the branch needs to remain in the Vine for life. (John 15) Otherwise, we
die.Again it is not a one-time
need before one gets saved but a continual need.Do we know the joy of this desperation
today? Is your spirit poor today
before God? Are you truly broken
and contrite in spirit?Can you
really answer in the affirmative to the questions posed here?Do we realize that He is more vital
to our existence and life than air and water are to our physical lives?Do we see ourselves literally in this way each and every day,
moment by moment?It is a joyful
desperation for the Living God. My soul thirsteth for GOD, for the LIVINGGOD:
when shall I come and appear before GOD? Psalm 42:2My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth
for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the
LIVINGGOD. Psalm 84:2
Conclusion
Heaven is the inheritance
of those who realize that they are continually in desperate need for
Jesus and long for His enriching Truth, satisfying Love and All sufficient
Presence.Would you be rich today, dear friend?Would you gain Heaven itself? Then be poor in
spirit.For truly, when we are
poor in spirit then are we rich in the Lord.Blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
(Matthew 5:3)
[Permission is granted to duplicate this article in its entirety, but only without additions, alterations or omissions of any kind, including the author and ministry name at the end.]
Perhaps some of you have heard a
popular Christian song on the airwaves that has the phrase, "I'm desperate for You, I'm desperate for You, I'm lost
without You, I'm desperate for You!" It is sung passionately to our Great God.
