{"id":2459,"date":"2022-09-20T16:10:11","date_gmt":"2022-09-20T20:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/?p=2459"},"modified":"2022-09-21T11:25:05","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T15:25:05","slug":"this-poor-needy-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/devotional\/this-poor-needy-man\/","title":{"rendered":"This Poor, Needy Man"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This Poor, Needy Man<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Psalm 40:17
But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Don’t you just love the Psalms? The whole Bible is God\u2019s gift and love letter to us, and Psalms, the largest of the books has its place right in the center of His Word. Psalms is a treasure of revelation for our relationship with God. Many of its prayers may have been penned by a shepherd boy who loved God and turned every situation in his life into praise and worship. However, all the psalms are in-breathed and moved by the Holy Spirit, and therefore, they are words of life especially for us \u201con whom the culmination of the ages has come\u201d (1 Cor 10:11)<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n
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Now Proverbs says that there are some people who pretend and boast of their abundance, but that boasting is nothing more than evidence of their great poverty (Prov 13:7). This was true of the Laodicean church \u2013 the church where, sadly, Jesus was not inside, but outside the church door and knocking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Revelation 3:17-18,20\nBecause you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'\u2014and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked\u2014\nI counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.\nBehold, I stand at the door and knock...<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
It is so popular today for Christians to make great, hyped-up proclamations of faith, claiming prosperity, riches, ministries, and fame. Yet, as with the Laodiceans, perhaps all that boasting is nothing more than the babbling noise of a very shallow brook. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Psalmist David knew what abundance was all about, yet he also understood how fragile his life was. As he put it: \u201cThere is but a step between me and death\u201d (1 Sam 20:3).<\/em> Some would say that David was living in fear, but that is far from the truth. He was living in reality and in true humility before God. That is exactly why God refers to David as \u201ca man after My own heart\u201d<\/strong> (1 Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22)<\/em>, setting him as an example for future kings and for us. His words of sincere helplessness only inspired him to draw that close to God, and clearly, God drew close to David:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James 4:6-8
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
\u201cGod resists the proud, 
But gives grace to the humble.\u201d
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you\u2026<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Even as a bold, confident military champion, and king, David understood the reality of who and what he was. That very realization positioned him into the mighty arms of God. One has to just smile with delight to read how David refers to himself, especially when we know the words were genuine, being in-breathed by God the Holy Spirit \u2013 words the Spirit longs for us to place in our mouth as well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psalm 34:6\nThis poor man<\/strong> cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Psalm 70:5\nBut I am poor and needy<\/strong>: make haste unto me, O God: You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Psalms 86:1\nBow down Your ear, O Lord hear me: for I am poor and needy<\/strong>.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Psalms 109:22\nFor I am poor and needy<\/strong>, and my heart is wounded within me.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Psalms 119:141\nI am small and despised<\/strong>: yet do not I forget Your precepts.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
I especially appreciate this confession of David\u2019s in the quaint King James language:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psalm 40:17\nBut I am poor and needy<\/strong>; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYet the Lord thinketh upon me!\u201d<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
It sounds so much like the Beloved\u2019s bride in Song of Solomon. Speaking out of her undivided yieldedness to her Beloved, she says in delight:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Song of Songs 7:10\nI am my beloved's, and His desire [Heb. \u201clonging\u201d] is toward me.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
And later, we have a full visual of her absolute surrender and trust in Him. She is all His, and it\u2019s all about Him. No loud boasting of who she is or what she has. Nothing of her at all. Nothing except her sweet revelation: \u201cHis desire is toward me.\u201d It was simply faith and abandonment in her Beloved\u2019s arms that got her through every wilderness and trial in life:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Song of Songs 8:5
Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved?<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
This same attitude is echoed through the beautiful beatitudes which Jesus proclaimed on the mount at the beginning of His earthly ministry:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Matthew 5:3-6\nBlessed are the poor<\/strong> in spirit,\nFor theirs is the kingdom of heaven.\nBlessed are those who mourn<\/strong>,\nFor they shall be comforted.\nBlessed are the meek<\/strong>,\nFor they shall inherit the earth.\nBlessed are those who hunger<\/strong> and thirst<\/strong> for righteousness,\nFor they shall be filled.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
In those words, there is nothing but humility, dependence on God, and desire for Him \u2014 qualities upon which Jesus pronounces great \u201cblessing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
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Throughout Psalms, we read how David hungered and thirsted for the Lord, longing to know Him more. This is just another reason why God called David “a man after My own heart” and exactly why we should let the Holy Spirit write these psalms in our heart so they can flow from our lips also:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psalms 42:1-2
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psalms 84:1-2
How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.<\/p>\n\n\n
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The Judean desert.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Psalms 63:1,8
[A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.]<\/em>
O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.
My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul knew his calling to be an apostle, but he understood that it was all of grace. As we read, there are no loud babbling sounds of a shallow brook. Instead, we can feel the quiet, smooth swiftness of the deep-flowing river of grace flowing through him:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 Timothy 1:12-15\nAnd I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,\nAlthough I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.\nAnd the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.\nThis is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.<\/strong><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
1 Corinthians 15:9-10\nFor I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle<\/strong>, because I persecuted the church of God.\nBut by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.<\/pre>\n\n\n
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\"time<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Water always flows down and seeks out the lowest places. Paul understood that he needed to live in genuine humility down at the foot of the Cross, remembering the \u201cmiry clay and horrible pit\u201d<\/em> from which God had lifted him (just like David said of himself in Psalm 40:2). That was the only way to allow the fullness of grace, like water, to flow down into every part of his being in order to fulfill the great ministry for which God had called him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2 Corinthians 12:9-10\nAnd He said to me, \u201cMy grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.\u201d Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities<\/strong>, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.\nTherefore I take pleasure in infirmities<\/strong>, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Paul understood that \u201cpride comes before\u2026a fall\u201d (Prov 16:19)<\/em>, and he had no interest in becoming a “castaway” because of a fall due to pride or any other work of the flesh:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 Corinthians 9:27
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
There is a old, precious little booklet called \u201cThe Practice of the Presence of God\u201d<\/em> which tells of a man in France who lived in the 1600s. He is simply known as Brother Lawrence, a man who lived to love and enjoy God. He delighted in doing anything and everything for the love of God:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat he had always been governed by love\u2026That he was pleased when he could take up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking Him only\u2026\u201d<\/p>\u2013 Brother Lawrence, 1614-1691<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
In the attitude of living simply and humbly, Brother Lawrence created a unique habit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat he had no scruples; for, said he, when I fail in my duty, I readily acknowledge it, saying, I am used to do so: I shall never do otherwise, if I am left to myself. If I fail not, then I give God thanks, acknowledging that it comes from Him.\u201d<\/p>\u2013 Brother Lawrence, 1614-1691<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
No self-proclamations there. Nothing but true, genuine humility. No pride in success and no discouragement because of failure. Pride and discouragement are the mountains and valleys upon which we will find ourselves traveling until humility brings down the river of grace which lowers the mountains and raises the valleys. We must remember that salvation not only begins with \u201cgrace through faith,\u201d<\/em> but salvation continues and reaches its consumation in grace:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
So, then, is it wrong to speak out in faith and proclaim the great promises in God\u2019s Word? Absolutely not! In fact, upon hearing any of God’s abundant promises should be cause for us to rejoice and shout! Yet, the more we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us through God\u2019s Word, we will find that there is always a beautiful balance \u2013 the same balance we see Creation. Branches that boldly stretch forth toward Heaven have roots that desperately search ever deeper for the necessary nourishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Years ago, an older missionary shared with me a tidbit of wisdom that I have always treasured:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt the end of our time on earth<\/strong>
\u2013 if we have allowed God to have absolute sway over our lives \u2013<\/strong>
we will understand the difference<\/strong>
between ourselves and the grace of God.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Those words totally rewired my concept of what spiritual maturity and depth are all about. \u201cI am what I am by the grace of God\u201d<\/em> \u2013 is not an excuse for our inabilities, nor is it a boast of some greatness we assume to possess. Rather, it is just a genuinely humble assessment of how \u201cpoor and needy\u201d<\/strong><\/em> we are in truth \u2013 the \u201ctruth that sets us free\u201d<\/em> with the freedom to abandon ourselves to God\u2019s amazing abundance of grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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But I am poor and needy;
yet the Lord thinketh upon me:
Thou art my help and my deliverer;
make no tarrying, O my God.<\/p>Psalm 40:17<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hallelujah! What a wonderful thought: the Lord thinketh upon me!
Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This Poor, Needy Man Psalm 40:17But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[103,114,466,467,470,211,243],"class_list":["post-2459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-devotional","tag-grace","tag-humility","tag-poor-in-spirit","tag-psalmist-david","tag-psalms","tag-surrender","tag-yieldedness"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Sheep-in-field_edited-copy-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1386&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8ofw-DF","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2459"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2477,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2459\/revisions\/2477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slentz.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}