Blessed Are the Poor and Meek

We are highly favored when we see ourselves in truth—that we are poor in spirit. We know that we can do nothing and are nothing without God. He gave us the very breath we breathe.

But, as Revelation 3:17 reminds us, those are to be pitied who claim to be rich and in need of nothing, not knowing that they are miserable and poor. That is the delusion of self-righteousness. Like the rich young ruler, who in essence proclaimed his own goodness, we need the law to humble us and expose our shame.

Such understanding causes us to thirst after the righteousness of God in Christ. Blessed are those who have the light of that understanding because that is our first step toward the cross. The law acts as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.

The world considers the meek to be weak, like a tiny trembling mouse trapped helplessly in the corner of a large room. But the meek are strong because they trust in God. Their feet are fixed firmly upon the immutable promises of the God who cannot lie. Their meekness also rests in the knowledge that God is for them. Nothing makes them panic because they are spiritually secure on the Rock of Ages. And in that strength, they manifest the fruit of the Spirit.

In Matthew 11:29 Jesus said that he was both meek and lowly of heart. That state was his strength, and it is our strength as we trust solely in him.

Prayer: Father, it is the revelation of my sinful state that causes me to trust in grace alone and not in my works. Weak though I am, in you I am strong because you favor me in Christ.