2Chr. 20:12 “O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”
This verse has been one of those verses I’ve prayed again and again for years. It captures the heart of what it means to be ‘poor in spirit.’ Jehoshaphat was facing an impossible situation, and just like all of us he was faced with a choice. He could either roll up his sleeves and take the burden on himself, worrying, and trying his best to work through his crises, or he could acknowledge his absolute weakness and look to the One who is always prepared to step in and take over. Jehoshaphat chose, in absolute utter dependence look to the one who is always more than adequate. In response to Jehoshaphat’s heart’s cry, The Lord sent a prophet to give him the word of The Lord. The Lord basically said “Don’t be afraid in this situation no matter how big the problem may seem, because now that you’ve turned it over to me the battle is Mine and not yours, and I’m bigger than any problem you’ll ever face.” Our greatest asset is our total weakness, because in our weakness His strength is made perfect. To be poor in spirit is to simply live knowing that in every situation and temptation we can’t but He can. The reward for the poor in Spirit is the Kingdom of God, and in that environment Christ the King Himself becomes our victory. Jehoshaphat went out in faith to face His situation, anticipating a God given victory and discovered, of course, that God did it. He always does. You may not how He is going to do it, or what it’s going to look like when He’s through, but you can rest in the fact that He will fight the battle and He will win.