Spiritual poverty brings richness

Roy knew the experience of spiritual poverty, immensely contributed to his spiritual growth. A realisation of his incompleteness had turned him toward God and his ways, and now God was providing him with all he needed to grow and heal. 

Spiritual poverty is required for our encounter with Christ; it develops a hunger for God. No one can become a disciple of Christ if there is no confession, at some level, of being lost and hopeless to free oneself from the prison and penalty of sin (Rom 3:23). Jesus’ life, death and resurrection are meaningless and unnecessary to us in the absence of spiritual poverty. Therefore, recognizing our brokenness is an essential step prior to saving faith.

However, confessing Christ as our personal Saviour is not enough to overcome brokenness and live a whole life. Although Roy became a temple of God for the Spirit of God lived in him (1 Cor. 3:16), he still had areas that needed to mature and be sanctified. Roy experienced growth as he lived according to what the Bible teaches: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him.”

Spiritual poverty drives us to find solutions for our neediness which are ultimately only found in our Creator God. Those who know they are truly needy are more motivated to look beyond themselves to Christ our Lord. For example, those in need often become humble in spirit, due to the difficulty of their condition. From there, it is a short step to finding God in so many ways. There is a strong correlation between those who are humble and those who seek after God: “The humble have seen it and are glad; You who seek God, let your heart revive” (Ps. 69:32).

The Bible spends considerable time blessing the spiritually needy and confronting the self-righteous. Reflect on difficult times in your life, and see if those were also times when you sought out the Lord more.