Daily Devotion - Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.-Matthew 5:3

Still working on the topic of strongholds.....As Christians, we have the truth that can set us free from strongholds.  I don't want to use the term addictions for two reasons.  First, addictions has the connotation of sounding like you're a drug user or alcoholic.  Second, addictions makes it sound almost like it's out of your control.  I think for most people, a stronghold is out of their control.  I really believe that the only way to get rid of a stronghold is through God's strength and by living for God.  I believe that God created us to want to be in fellowship with Him.  That's why he created man in the first place.  In my life, I've had family and friends who were involved in some sort of addiction or another and the one common thread amongst them is the searching for finding something that can fill that missing space in their heart.  God created us to want to love Him.  When we are not in fellowship with Him, we search to fill that hole in our hearts.  Okay, so back to the Bible study:  what does the Beatitudes have to do with addictions, strongholds?  Well, I think it's interesting that Jesus starts the Beatitudes with blessed are the poor in spirit.  At first glance, it sounds like He's talking about weak and feeble people.  Some of the heroes of the faith were poor in spirit:  Moses, David, Paul.  Here, without going into a Greek explanation of poor (yawn), poor is talking about being free from pride.  The first step in getting rid of a stronghold is admitting you have a problem.  Have a meeting with sinners' anonymous:  "Hi everyone.  My name is Heather and I'm a sinner." ("Hi Heather). :)  When we stop blaming everything else and everyone else for the strongholds in our life, we take the responsibility that it's our own fault.  When we realize it's our own fault, we know that God is our only way out.  Poor isn't being weak.  It's like a horse that's been broken:  the strength is still there, but he is totally in submission to his master.

Here's where the rubber meets the road:  In the three days that I've been doing this study, I've lost 2 pounds.  Yesterday I swam laps for 30 minutes and then played in the water for another 30.  Today I walked two miles.  Praise God for the strength to do it.  The epstein barr has been wiping me out this summer and my energy level is very low and my pain level is quite high.  But God is giving me strength.