Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Abraham Lincoln used to say that God must love the common poor people, He made so many of them. God also loves the rich people, but they need to be reminded that all they have is given them by His grace.
Poor people seem to be especially dear to the heart of God, according to the Bible. They are usually happier, says Jesus: "Blessed [happy] are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). "The needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever" (Psalm 9:18). "The poor committeth himself unto Thee; Thou art the helper of the fatherless" (10:14).
David was once a poor person; he tells us about it: "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles" (Psalm 34:6). He "deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him" (35:10).
Don't be ashamed to be poor, for there is a special privilege that you enjoy. David says, "I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me" (40:17), and all kinds of blessings He has "prepared of [His] goodness for the poor" (68:10). If in addition to being poor, you are "sorrowful," you have the thrill of being "set ... up on high," and He "heareth" you in a special way (69:29, 33). For those who are "poor and needy," He is in a special sense their "help and ... deliverer" (70:5). It seems almost as though God is partial to poor people!
For sure, Jesus knows how to sympathize with them, for when He was on earth, He was poor--all His life. A carpenter accustomed to building houses for other people, He says He "hath not where to lay His head" (Matt. 8:20). If He had left temporal heirs, they would have gotten nothing in the courts except His clothes--and the soldiers beat them to that.
Conclusion: if you are poor, lift up your head and rejoice: you have something in common with Jesus. Remember, He hears your prayer, and He will answer.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 15, 2001.
Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
------------------------------
Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" Web site resides at:http://1888message.org/
To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to: dailybread@1888message.org
------------------------------
Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.
