Matthew 5:1–3: “And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'”

January 3rd, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Early Church writers tell us that Matthew chapters 5–8 were part of a single message given by Jesus on the side of a grass-covered hill overlooking the beautiful Sea of Galilee. It is believed to be a word-for-word transcript of the message. These beatitudes (Latin for blessed) have rightly been called the greatest sermon ever given, and are often referred to as the “be attitudes” and not the “be doings.” God is always looking at the attitude of our hearts, so it was not by accident that He began this sermon by pointing to our heart’s attitude about our own spirituality.

To be “poor in spirit,” means to recognize that apart from God we are lost, destitute, and spiritually bankrupt. Every person is born into this world spiritually dead. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). But we must be careful to view this from God’s perspective. This “poor in spirit” does not mean to be “poor spirited” or not to have a backbone. It simply means to have a correct estimate of ourselves—that we are spiritually penniless people. Jesus is saying that holding onto this characteristic of considering ourselves as poor in spirit is an attitude that will bring us happiness.

Most people in our society today would argue the opposite. Conventional wisdom says, “happy are the successful, the powerful, the glamorous the rich, the famous, the aggressive, the self-reliant, and the self-confident.” But it is only when we realize that we are needy and spiritually dead that we can be saved. As God said through the Prophet Isaiah: “But on this one will I look: / On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, / And who trembles at My word” (Isa. 66:2).

“Thank you, LORD, that we can only come empty handed to You this day, just like the very first day we ever came to You. We ask You to cleanse us and flow through us this day.”