Reading
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.”
Matthew 5:3-9 (The Message)
Reflection
In the last year, my music streaming app has been introducing me to a variety of new contemporary Christian artists whose music has helped me to deepen my faith. One song that quickly became my favorite is “Blessed are the Ones” by Rend Collective. It, along with the Message translation of the Bible, have helped me to experience the Beatitudes, part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew Chapter 5, as a description and promise of being blessed rather than as instructions or a list of “shoulds”. In the chorus of the song, the group sings:
Blessed are the ones who can’t fix themselves
Blessed are the ones who know they need help
Blessed are the ones who don’t have it all together
They’re gonna see You come through
When we worry, we are in a state of ruminating on things that we often can’t control or do anything about. If it was within our power to fix it, we would. What makes the difference is whether or not we recognize in that moment that God can handle those things that are causing us to worry. The song concludes with this:
At the end of my rope, I’ll find You
At the end of my hope, I’ll call on You
I will empty myself and make some room
I’m gonna see You come through
I have never felt more “at the end of my rope” than those times when I am full of worry. When I am worrying, there isn’t room for anything or anyone else. Worry is self-focused. The call to empty ourselves and “make room” for God, gives God space and permission to come into our lives to do what only He can do. When we make room for Him, we get to see him come through in ways we can’t imagine.
An Invitation
Rather than providing you with specific words to pray, I invite you to spend some time with God in silence (a form of prayer) and listen to “Blessed are the Ones.” Invite God to use the music to speak to you.
Listen here: https://youtu.be/-tPAJNncdg0?si=DBLc70OhNIAdG4dW
