Impoverished

There are many kinds of poverty.

Several weeks ago, an eleven year old boy told me that when he was younger, there had been no food in the house. He had seen puppies nursing and had realized that they were receiving sustenance. He was so hungry that he had fed alongside those puppies from the dog’s teat.

He said it with a slight blush, but matter-of-factly, as if it is what any hungry person would do. It was his only alternative to the hungry ache in his belly.

Then, he went on to describe a different sort of poverty. His parents have been living in another state for several years now. He hungers for their return. There is no substitute for his mom and dad. He is impoverished, with nothing to fill the hungry ache in his soul.

No matter our income levels, we all face poverty of one kind or another. Grief, loss, purposelessness, need- the causes may differ, but poverty looks like the same empty ache, a desperate longing to be filled.

The prophet Isaiah wrote, “He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; He seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.”

The poor man has nothing to offer to any god, so he chooses the poorest one because it costs him very little. He tries to make his poor idol the very best it can be, even employing a skillful craftsman to shape it and make it sound.

However, all wood rots.

Even if the man had been rich enough to afford a god of gold or silver, he wouldn’t have had anything to offer to it. He has nothing to fill his hungry ache and lets his impoverishment dictate his tastes and actions.

It drives him away from the truth that there is a Living God who made Him who is able to meet his every need.

Jesus told the multitudes on the hillside, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Anyone who comes to Him with empty hands, too poor to bring an offering, still finds their hearts filled with the new life He offers.

When we come hungry to Jesus, He fills us, no matter what type of poverty we’re walking through.

Jesus is the One who can fill the hungry ache of a child for his parents, the deathly craving of the addict, the lonely wail of the bereaved, and the emptiness of the modern man.

All we have to do is bring our emptiness to Him to be filled.

That’s why Isaiah could also write, “Comfort, comfort My people, says Your God.” He is a God who never rots and cannot be moved, rich enough to dispel any sort of poverty, alive enough to conquer death, and gracious enough to give His steadfast love to any who ask for it- even when we have nothing to offer in return.