BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR NEED FOR HIM - by Karena Lout

As we continued our series on the Beatitudes this last Saturday, I started to think about how it must have felt for those who listened. The poor, sick, those on the margins of society, under Roman oppression sat and heard an upside-down kingdom message that was unlike anything they’d heard before. In the synagogue, students and religious leaders typically had the best seats, while the poor and sick were invited in mostly for charitable giving. Now Jesus was speaking directly to them as he said, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
  
Maybe like me, you’ve been a bit confused by this scripture. Poor in spirit? Didn’t Jesus come to give us a new heart, a new spirit within us? Yes, he did! He is talking about the posture of our heart. Another way to put it might be, blessed are those who acknowledge their need for him, who put their trust in him completely. Blessed are those who lay down their ego, their pride, their reputation, their protection and cry out, “I need you Jesus!”
 

“My grace is always more than enough for you, and my power finds its full expression through your weakness. So I will celebrate my weaknesses, for when I’m weak I sense more deeply
the mighty power of Christ living in me.”
2 Corin.12:9

  
Several years ago, I was in a remote village in Cambodia where a community of people lived surrounded by a garbage dump. They had make-shift buildings where they held church services. Our team saw God heal so many people (more than I’ve seen in other places I’ve been). Even in this harsh living condition, the children still ran around, playing, laughing and worshipping Jesus. They were desperate for God to touch them. In the natural they had very little, but their spirits were rich.

During worship on a Saturday night a few weeks ago, Holy Spirit showed me that I had been trying to figure out so many things on my own. It happens subtly. Sometimes we don’t even realize we are slipping into independence and self-sufficiency. When we try to do things in our own strength, we leave Jesus out of the equation. I encourage you today to invite Him into every area of your heart and your life to do what only He can do. It’s our surrender, our complete trust in Him that ushers in His kingdom.

Love, Karena

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