"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).
A young Christian leader, who was probably more impressed with himself than he should have been, shared with me one day how he had difficulty in being humble about all of his talent. He was a better than average speaker and a reasonably gifted singer, he had a good mind and personality, and in his heart of hearts he knew that as a Christian he should be humble.
He said, "I spend many hours on my knees asking God to make me humble." I responded, "I can save you a lot of prayer time in that regard if you are interested." He assured me that he was. Whereupon I explained to him that every gift he possessed - personality, good mind, his ability to sing, speak, and other qualities - were all gifts of God and could be taken from him at any moment by a brain tumor or a car accident or plane crash or any of a thousand different things. Furthermore I reminded him that Scripture admonishes us to humble ourselves.
"Humility is perfect quietness of heart," Andrew Murray said. "It is to have no trouble. It is never to be fretted or irritated or sore or disappointed. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed hope in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness when all around and above is trouble."
Few Christians achieve such high standards, nevertheless it is an objective toward which we all should strive as long as we live, following the example of our Lord recorded in Philippians, chapter 2.
To be poor in spirit implies not only that we have a humble opinion of ourselves, but also that we recognize that we are sinners and have no righteousness of our own; that we are willing to be saved only by the grace and mercy of God; that we are willing to serve where God places us, to bear the burdens He allows and to stay in His hands and admit that we deserve no favor from Him.
As commonly interpreted, the word "blessed" means "happy." You and I are assured of happiness when we are making conscious strides toward humility. All of this becomes possible as we yield to God's indwelling Holy Spirit.
TODAY'S ACTION POINT: With the help of the Holy Spirit I will consciously humble myself, asking Him to enable me to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and my neighbor as myself as an act of humility and as a major factor in achieving the supernatural life.
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