March 24th, 2026

Hi Friends,

Have you ever felt truly helpless and hopeless — in an impossible situation that you can’t change and where no ability within you gives you reason to hope?

It was 1993. I had just arrived in Ghana for a busy month of work, only to find that while eating  with my host family in a restaurant, thieves had taken all my bags out of the trunk of my friend’s car. Gone was my passport, my clothes, my visa, my speaking notes (I was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the national pastors’ conference in four days). I didn’t have underwear, a toothbrush, deodorant or any number of other things that make life less difficult or more comfortable. Worse yet, a short-term team from the church were scheduled to arrive in two weeks. How could I convince them that they didn’t need to worry about safety?

Then my friends stepped up. A Canadian diplomat lent me some clothes that almost fit. A missionary took me shopping for basic necessities. Someone lent me a bible. Someone else took me to the Canadian Consulate so I could apply for a new passport. Many people over there and back here prayed. All my needs were met. God brought to mind the basic ideas of each talk I had prepared and I saw a response to those messages out of proportion to my preparation or delivery. I will never forget how that feeling of helplessness led to one of the great spiritual and physical experiences of my life. I was safe, cared for, contributing — none of it my own doing. 

In Matthew’s account, Jesus begins his sermon on the mountain by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” There is nothing blessed about being poor — in spirit or in any other way. The emptiness, the lack, echoes and aches. Jesus is not endorsing any kind of poverty. He’s talking about people who recognize and are deeply aware of their need and their helplessness. He’s referring to people whose only hope is outside their own ability to provide. He’s talking about people like you and me. It’s just that, barring an incident like I experienced on that trip to Ghana, we seldom come close to that level of awareness of our own need. To even consider being that “needy” makes us cringe inwardly.

If we are serious about following Jesus, we have to come to grips with our helplessness and our hopelessness. We can’t please God or follow him or become like Jesus in our own strength. We can’t satisfy God’s righteous justice even if we give ourselves over to death. We are imperfect and dependent. We are absolutely in need. Our rules won’t do it, no matter how perfectly we maintain them. Good deeds are no more effective than good looks. We are bankrupt when it comes to being acceptable to God. Thankfully, Paul says,“For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.” (Rom. 8:3)

As we move closer to holy week, consider your need(s) again. Be scathingly honest but don’t despair. Accept your poverty of spirit and trust God. As wonderful and faithful as my friends were, God is much more so. He will supply you with everything you need for life and godliness. That supply starts with the dying of his Son for your sin and mine. Hallelujah!

Blessings!

Doug