There is a passage in Matthew 5 called the Beatitudes. It is a portion of Scripture that gives instruction about life in the kingdom of God. Jesus was speaking directly to His disciples in this passage, and the crowds were so intrigued by what He had to say they followed him and listened.
The first ten verses read:
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Sometimes when I read Scripture, I read a larger passage but meditate on a small portion to hear how God is moving me to respond. It allows me to zero in on that particular part of God’s Word.
Here in the Beatitudes, there is so much to pull out, but I am going to lean into “Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” to illustrate this practice. Previously when I read this passage, I always thought it was meant to describe those who were down, that is what poor in spirit was to me. But when I dug deeper in commentary, I saw it really is saying blessed are those who realize that they need God.
Isn’t this the opposite of what the world is telling us to do? We do it all with our own strength. We make our own way through life. We hear the world telling us to own our troubles and drown them out with the fun aspects of life. We are good on our own if we have all the good things in life. Some may even say we don’t need God.
But in the Beatitudes we see that we are called to a posture that bows to Christ as Lord over our life. We are nothing without Christ. Depending on where you are in your faith journey or circumstance, this instruction can be challenging. Needing God more could look like stopping to pray and handing my attempt at controlling my circumstances over to Christ before calling my friend. It means recognizing that His Holy Spirit guides me in my decision making, so I will wait on the Lord before making a quick decision, even though it’s something I really want to do, to ensure that it is aligned to God’s will. Our spiritual life is full only because Christ is in our life, moving in us. He is everything we could ever need and deserves all the glory.
I encourage you to dwell on this tiny portion of Scripture and pray that God teaches you to need Him more than anything else. Then as you have time, if you are up to it, lean into the rest of the Beatitudes, verse by verse allowing God to speak to you. If it’s not this portion of Scripture, try wherever you are reading. Dwell on one or two verses and just listen for how God speaks. See Him. Hear Him. Knowing that being still at the feet of Jesus is just where we need to be.
Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash
ABOUT OUR BLOGGER
Susan Veenema and her husband, Jeremy, love exploring Chester County with their two older biological daughters and three adopted children.
Susan has been in education for almost 20 years supporting children with disabilities and their families. She currently works at the Department of Education. One of her greatest joys is leading Thursday night women's Bible study and her couples community group.
People are her passion. She loves to read, write and study everything from history to social sciences to the early church. You'll always find her trusty German Shorthaired Pointer by her side.
WOMEN'S IF: 2024 CONFERENCE
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