Dependence On God

God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Matthew 5:3

SOME CALL THESE verses the “Be-attitudes” after their Latin name, the Beatitudes. In a sense, they’re the kinds of attitudes and ways of looking at and dealing with life that God most wants us to employ in our daily living. What do they mean?

Let’s take the first one. To be “poor and realize their need for him” just about says it all. This beatitude is about humility before God and your recognition of your need of him—his support, his blessings, and everything else under the sun. Those who think of themselves as “self-made” and who “need no one and nothing” are the antithesis of this kind of person. They will never get anything from God. He will leave them to their own resources because that’s the way they want it.

But the humble person who recognizes dependence on God for everything will find not only God’s blessing but the promise of the Kingdom itself. All it takes is humility, acknowledging your need, and wow!—you’ve got the resources of heaven at your feet!