“We are not worthy. We never could be even when we hoped we might. We are not able on our own. We are not good enough and never will be. We are not worthy, never have been, and never even had a shot at trying. That is the whole point. That’s the reason we belong to Jesus – because we are not worthy.”

“But what is this ‘poverty of spirit’? What does it mean to be utterly destitute? It means we are wholly needy, flat-broke beggars with no resources available. It means that you and I have been honest with God and come to realize that we are without an ounce of hope if left to our own designs. This is desperate poverty.

When we have tried to figure out life on our own. When we have wrestled in the dark with life’s biggest questions. When we have asked, ‘Is this all there is? Is this all I will ever be?’ When we have looked inside our souls and truly seen that there is nothing good there. When we have owned up to our sin and fessed up to our motives. When we have stumbled for the hundredth time with the habit or pattern we thought we had beaten. When we have yelled and cursed and screamed like a bratty little baby. When we’ve finally let the truth of our inside out, into the light comes the reality of poverty.

When we have been completely vulnerable with God, we can admit that we have no assets to cling to. We don’t have a stash that will get us through. There are no favors to call in. We don’t have power or prestige or influence. We will surely starve to death if left to our own means. When there is real poverty in your soul, there is desperation.”

“Fear plays with your head, rips out your heart, and empties the soul of strength and determination and will.”

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