“…My glory and the One who lifts up my head.” Psalm 3:3
There is a Hebrew word for poor that means to be needy, weak, and lowly (aniy, 6041). The root word (anah, 6031) has the idea of being bowed down, stooped over because of a heaviness or depression. If you can imagine, a person who is feeling low might have their head down, bent over with feelings that are overwhelming.
Being poor is coming up short for what is required. Being poor is a position of being under, dominated, and defeated. Poverty is a state of lack, never having enough. The poor has a vulnerable quality. Along with poverty are often feelings of insecurity, instability, fear, worry, and anxiety. Poverty has much to do with feeling out of control, often feeling controlled by others.
People can be poor for different reasons. While some might be lazy, others could be suffering with a handicap or disability. Others could be bankrupt because of taking a risk that failed. Some have an oppressor who financially holds them down or hold them back. This could be anyone from an unfair employer to an abusive spouse to a corrupt government. It could even be Satan himself, working against the believer to keep him or her down so as never to rise up and do their part in the kingdom.
Several times in the Word of God we read about lifting up our eyes to see beyond our limits. In Psalm 3:3 the Bible says that God is the One who lifts up our head. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
God’s salvation completes us in every way. His life brings us to an abundance of all we need. It includes eternal life, and it includes everything that restores us from any kind of life. This includes provision, an abundant supply. John 10:10 Jesus said, “…I have come to that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” God promises to meet your needs so that you have more than enough.
God’s power to resurrect can reach down into a low place of oppression and raise up His people to new heights in Him. Being resurrected is not a matter of what we do to climb out of our troubles, but it is a matter of God raising us up by His power!
Application: Jeremiah 22:16 says, “He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Was this not knowing Me?” Find someone in need you can give to today, whatever the amount. This is knowing God.