Poor in Spirit

This summer I'm participating in a Bible study on the Beatitudes. Although I memorized this passage as a child, I'll confess - I haven't given it much thought over the years.

Last week we focused on Matthew 5:3: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Someone suggested that to be poor in spirit is to be radically dependent upon God. I haven't been able to get that out of my mind this week - I love that picture.

What does it look like to be radically dependent upon God, I wonder? The Message puts it this way: You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you, there is more of God and his rule.

What keeps me from being radically dependent upon God? Perhaps a better question would be "what else am I depending on, instead of God?" Things like the approval of others and my own intuition came to mind. So the next question I must ask is "why do I have to wait until circumstances drive me to the end of my rope?" These things I'm depending on - what would it be like to just let go of them now? What's keeping me from doing so?

Radically dependent upon God. That's where I want to be.