Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

I was exhausted. I had spent a week traveling back and forth between venues, teaching pastors, teachers, parents, and aid workers—and now I was on my way home.

Everything had been successful, but my energy levels were depleted, and I was running on empty. I arrived at the airport, checked in my luggage, and went to passport control.

Then my name was called. I returned to the security area and unpacked my bag to show I had no illegal substances. I had packed one suitcase inside another for the return journey because I had given away dozens of free books. It had taken a long time to pack everything carefully into my double suitcase, and now I had to do it all over again.

Finally, I was free to find some lunch. But all I could eat safely were a few olives. I needed to send some emails, but the internet connection was not working.

Frustrated and hungry, I went to the waiting area for my flight.

I was grumpy and irritable. I was not scoring highly on Paul’s fruit of the Spirit. I did not feel like being kind or peaceful or patient or any of those other lovely things.

Suddenly, I heard my name being called on the loudspeaker.

I panicked. Maybe I was at the wrong gate.

I walked over to the boarding desk and said, in a very annoyed voice, “OK, so what’s wrong now?” The flight attendant smiled at me.

“Mrs. Holford, you have just been upgraded to business class!” “Oh! Thank you!” I stammered, embarrassed at my irritation.

A few minutes later, I was sitting on the plane in business class with a menu of wonderful food and a glass of fresh orange juice. I sank gratefully into the comfortable seat.

Tears of joy came to my eyes as I felt God’s love wrapping me up and soothing my exhausted heart. I was so poor in spirit, and yet I felt as if I had experienced the kingdom of heaven. If you read through the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, you will notice something very beautiful. The blessing for being poor in spirit (verse 3) and the blessing for being courageous enough to be persecuted (verse 10) are exactly the same—the kingdom of heaven.

God accepts us and blesses us equally, wherever we are on our journey of faith, whether we feel poor and inadequate or brave and bold, because what matters the most is His incredible love for us.

Karen Holford