A Blessed Life
Matthew 5:3 (NKJV) “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Poor in the original Greek is ptōchos, it means beggar.
If we want to truly comprehend what it means to be blessed, we need to understand what it means to be poor in spirit. He's not saying that if we have stuff we cannot be blessed and He's also not saying that you have to be penniless and depressed to be favored.
To be poor in spirit means that we have surrendered everything to Jesus and just as a beggar would beg for food, we are hungry to be fed by the Spirit of God. It's a yearning in our soul and a passionate desire for the deep things of God above anything else!
1 Corinthians 2:10 (NKJV) But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
Having money and things isn't a sin, but in our culture, people are ruled by the desire for more. Unfortunately, in many cases, it's never enough. Achieving one goal only serves to fuel the desire for another... why is that? It's because objects do not have the ability to fulfill a soul, but the flesh is fickle and believes that the pursuit of more, holds the results we desire. It's the same way with relationships. You can be in one and feel completely fulfilled... temporarily, but soon you realize that there's still an emptiness within, so you move on to the next person who is also not equipped to complete you. It's a futile cycle of self-destructive behavior.
All the striving for fulfillment in inanimate objects and people will only lead to more disappointment. That's why so many in Hollywood who seem to have it made, sadly end their lives. When they've fulfilled every desire and still feel miserable, they believe there's nothing left to live for. It's very sad... fulfillment is really quite easy to find. Nothing but Jesus will do... there's no plan B and absolutely no substitute! A blessed life can only be achieved in one that's no longer lived for selfish ambition.
Stop looking to the world to satisfy you, it's all temporal. You will only be completely fulfilled as you lay everything aside and allow Him to become the true desire of your heart... surrender everything to Him and find everything you need.
Psalm 37:4 (NKJV) Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:19-24 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."
