When learning about the World Race, I used to read blog after blog of past racers who experienced healings, visions, and supernatural miracles that I had only previously heard about in the bible. These things were happening now, in my life time, and I was unaware of them. I did not understand that. Therefore, this became my number one question I prayed for God to answer this year:
"Why is it that the wealthiest people and cultures experience far fewer miracles and less of the supernatural God that we hear about in third world countries?"
I have read a number of books on the race, one which included Heidi Baker's book, "Compelled by Love". In the book, Heidi tells of the miraculous journeys alongside her husband as they arrived in Mozambique with the clothes on their back and $30 to their name. Heidi's witnessed blind eyes open in an instant, deaf ears completely healed, children and adults being raised from the dead, and miracles like the feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew.
From her many encounters with the Holy Spirit, she quotes, "Everywhere we travel in the West, we tell people that Jesus does things upside down. We have learned this from sitting with the poorest of the poor and letting them teach us about the Kingdom of God. Jesus loves to show himself to the weak first, the most unlikely, the forgotten, and the most humble of them all."
The more I thought about that quote, I was reminded of practically every character in the Bible. For example, little David against Goliath? Joseph, the youngest brother, ruling over his whole family and country? Shadrach, Meshack, and Abendegno? Abraham? All of these characters were nobodies until they followed God.
One of my favorite verses in the bible is Matthew 5:8,
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."
After I read this for the first time, I was really confused. If we are called to be poor, then why was I born into a wealthy family? What is it about the poor that draws the Kingdom of God to earth? What does it mean to be poor in spirit?
The more I dove into this verse, as well as into Heidi's book, I began to realize that being poor in spirit is just like being physically poor: literally having nothing left, being desperate, hungry, and thirsty for more of Him every single day. We are called to be poor.
So does that mean I have to give up my lifestyle of eating whatever I want? Driving my own car? Spending money on vacations? These people I have visited in third world countries have NONE of what we call normal life back home. What makes us so special to have access to all this "stuff"? I've never once been hungry, naked, or alone. How am I supposed to know how to be poor when I've never been physically poor in my life? Am I supposed to give up everything like the woman in the Bible who gave all of her gold coins to the offering plate?
It doesn't matter about the things you have or don't have; what matters is the attitude of your heart. The poor are not arrogant. The poor are needy. They know they are in need. So to be poor in spirit, the attitude of our hearts should remain in desperation for the Lord.
If you know me, you've probably heard about the homeless man I befriended before the race named Caveman. I had seen Caveman begging on the street corners in Jackson, TN since I moved there, and would hear various rumors that he used to get into his Hummer at the end of the day and drive home, living on a $40,000 salary from dressing up as a homeless man. My heart was stone, and I decided to listen to those rumors and for years I never approached him.
However, one day I was driving down the highway and saw him holding a sign that merely said "hungry," not "I need money." My heart began to pound like crazy and I decided to grab some Mcydy's and go talk to him. I was a baby Christian at the time, and didn't quite know what to say so I asked if I could pray for him. He said, "Well sure darlin', you can pray any time." He started to preach to me and share his heart on being homeless. He told me he loved being homeless. Jesus was homeless when Mary and Joseph were looking for a room in the inn. Then it all clicked. This man was my teacher for the day. He helped me understand that a life of having nothing is a thousand times more valuable than a life of riches.
He relied everyday on food from dumpsters to fill his stomach. He was desperate for the Lord to show up everyday in His life, or else he would die. He usually only ate one meal a day. One meal! Our Father loves us more in a moment, than any lover could in a lifetime. We should be desperate of pursuing those moment every single day. We are called to a relationship of dependence, like how Caveman depends on food.
One of the best analogies I've heard in a long time was in church this past Sunday in Vietnam. The pastor was from Australia, and shared about his proposal to his wife. He planned a limousine ride to dinner an hour away from her home town, and a firework show on the beach where he would propose. He spent hours, days, weeks, planning every detail, every word he would speak to the woman he loved most in his life.
That is what our Father has done for us. He's made the biggest proposal of all: He gave us the Kingdom. That's right. He gave us His ENTIRE Kingdom to carry around with us wherever we go. He bankrupted Heaven for you and me. He gave everything. He became poor (giving His son) so that we could become rich.
So why is it so hard to change the attitude of our hearts and become poor in spirit? Find someone who needs something more than you. Befriend them, encourage them, pray for them, and bless them. It won't be long before they begin to teach you.
