Finding God…In Low Places

  We’re in Africa!! It's amazing and I love it here!! BUT…

  God has spoken to me, and convicted me hard core the last several days. Really, He has!
God opened my eyes to how I was becoming complacent to showing God’s love to the broken…to the poor in spirit.

  Just the other day a handful of beggars and lame came up to me while I was sitting in a bus. They wanted money. But what they really needed was love. Their very beings cried out for love and attention. I ignored them. I gave them neither money nor love. I ignored them?? Really? As a son of the Father filled with so much of His love, I ignored them? What kind of love is this? It is definitely not the love of the Father, and this is definitely not the first time I have done this. It was me being selfish. It was me holding all the love that God has given to me to give away, and keeping it for myself.

  In the last week I have been reading “Compelled By Love” be Heidi Baker. My life is being wrecked by the book. Heidi talks so much about the poor in spirit.

-God shows up for those who are poor in spirit.

  What does it mean to be poor in spirit? There is something about the poor that delights the heart of God. They are contrite. They know they are in need. But what is it about them that draws the kingdom of God to earth? The answer to this lies in their dependency, hunger, need, and desperation.

  We can find the face of God in the poor. If we desire more of Him, we need to get low for He dwells among the poor in spirit.

   I believe being poor in spirit is a choice-a decision-we all have to make to go lower still, fully dependent on the One who is always dependable. I realized today that for far too long here on the race, I have been making lame excuses. I have loved the poor, but not how God has called me to love them.

  Here in Africa, if I want to see the blind eyes opened, the lame walk, and the captives set free, I can no longer walk by the beggars. I can no longer ignore the crippled-the broken. No more complacent love. No more selfishness. None! I must stop for every cripple, beggar, and brokenhearted that God sends my way because I have been compelled by love-the love of the Father.

  Heidi Baker writes in her book,
  “Yes, God wants you to do signs and wonders. But the love of God manifested through you is what people really need. So you must first see His face. You must become so close to His very heartbeat that you can feel what others feel. I want to live as if I am hidden in His very heart, where His thoughts become my thoughts, and His ways become my ways.

This is so true! True greatness is meekness. Humility! Blessed are those who are poor in spirit!

You want a fresh encounter with God? I can guarantee that you will find him in the lowly places…the poor in spirit.