What Even is “Poor in Spirit?” | Matthew 5:3
September 16, 2023
What does “Blessed are the poor in spirit” really mean?
These Psalms are praises. Pure, unadulterated praise for the Creator of the universe. I think I have mentioned before how astounded I am with the night sky. I mean, holy moly. All the things that are up there that we can’t even see. They just exist out in space.
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Galaxies and galaxies, sparkly stars that twinkle, planets that orbit and stay in their own path. The sun that gives us light that is the perfect distance from Earth, so we don’t burn slap up. How in the world? How does God do it? I’ve never been one to believe that we are just here by chance. Do people still talk about or believe the Big Bang Theory? (I am not talking about the sitcom.)
[4:45] Psalm 19 makes the case that even creation tells the story of God and Christ.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. Verses 1-2 NIV
God’s splendor is a tale that is told; his testament is written in the stars. Space itself speaks his story every day through the marvels of the heavens, His truth is on tour in the starry vault of the sky. Showing his skill in creation’s craftsmanship. Each day gushes out its message to the next, night with night whispering its knowledge to all. Verses 1-2 Passion
[11:09] If you think about it, this is certainly true. Looking at what God the creator, Elohim, has done surely makes you stand in awe and wonder. I mean, it should. How can you deny a creator?
[16:05] Psalm 29 says the voice of the Lord is in the thunder and lightning. Can’t you imagine the fear of those early civilizations when thunder boomed, and lightning crashed? They had to think that something terrible was about to happen. When we were in Israel in February of 2019, I heard the loudest thunder of my life in Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee. It woke me up and I jumped a foot off the bed as it crashed outside the window. I literally thought a bomb had gone off. It echoed so loudly off the surrounding mountains. I can only imagine what people who didn’t know what a radar map was and had never seen a line of storms progress in shades of greens, yellows, and reds across a screen would think.
[25:33] Sure, weather and space are easy things to understand a higher being involved. Right? But have you ever seen bird feathers up close? Y’all know how I feel about birds. The patterns and details in their feathers are so gorgeous. They look fake. They really do. I am always like there is no way this bird is really just like this. Remember when we talked about this while looking at Psalm 8? Remember when David was like, Who am I that you are mindful of me? Yeah, this is like that. God had so much beauty and creation before he even got to us. Yet He made us.
[27:52] You may wonder how we could even compare to the vastness and wonder of the heavens. I know I do. But the way we are put together is miraculous. How our nerves and sinews, bones, and cartilage are connected and put together is unbelievable. We may not be as intricate as birds on the outside, but we make up for it on the inside.
This lesson, this pairing of psalms really took a turn I wasn’t expecting. I think Holy Spirit really wanted me to look at these two psalms a different way than I had intended. They heavens might tell the story of Christ, but so do we. We have a part in the creation story. We were created with purpose. We can tell the same story. We must take care of ourselves.
