poor in spirit

Last week at Youth Group we started a series on the beatitudes.  Our first one to tackle was "Blessed are the poor in spirit."  Here are a few reflections.  

Poor in spirit is all about my relationship with God.  To be poor in spirit is to realize my total dependence on God.  Notice that it's to "realize" dependence rather than becoming that way.  To become dependent assumes that I could do it on my own with enough money, will power, or physical strength.  To realize it means knowing that without Him I am nothing.  To realize it means knowing that the only way I am is that He first was.  I am totally dependent on God for life.

Living a dependent life is unnatural to me.  It's far easier to trust in my own understanding and to not acknowledge God (Proverbs 3:5-6).  It's easier to rely on the money, power, and strength that I have to offer, and hope for the best.  It's harder to be poor in spirit.

In light of that, here are a few things I've been doing to grow in poverty:

Reminding Myself
On my walk to work in the morning is a great time to pray.  In my prayer, I always try to declare my position before God.  "God, today I am going to depend on you."  And sometimes I'll mention a few ways I intend to do that.

I have to proclaim this daily because there's no guarantee I'll do it tomorrow.  By centering myself at the beginning of the day, it helps me to remember who God has made me to be.  If I'm a decent husband, youth worker, or worship leader, there is no one to praise except God.  If it was up to me, it would've been screwed up a long time ago.

Remind Myself
When something comes across my desk or my phone, I remind myself that I am dependent on God, and I seek God's direction, and then I act with everything that God has given me to accomplish the task.  

Blessed are the poor in spirit.