Hosanna Restoration Church

Psalm 41 begins with these words. Truly, God cares about the poor. Some people use the plight of the poor as reason to blame God. They think God should do something for them. The truth is that God does do lots for them. His eyes are on them and He promises a blessing to those who will care for them. God loves the rich as well, but there is nothing in scripture that offers a reward to those who will care for the rich.

The Lord promises to rescue people in times of trouble because they have cared for the poor. In addition He says that He will protect them and keep them alive. On top of that, He says that He gives them prosperity and rescues them from their enemies. Finally we are told that He nurses them when they are sick and eases their pain. When you read this, it makes you think that perhaps taking care of the poor should have very high priority in our lives. In fact, it seems that God promises to provide most of what people seek for in life as a reward for caring for the poor.

There is no doubt that God could simply alleviate poverty in the world. Actually, He will one day. But until that day, there will always be poor people. Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you.” The truth is, it is not just people without money that are poor. There are people who have literally nothing that consider themselves rich. And there are those with vast wealth who are the poorest of the poor, for they have no joy or peace.

If we want to receive the blessings God promises, then we must be watchful for opportunities to help the poor. The Bible speaks of special care for widows and orphans. They may have finances but lack something else. There are lots of ministries that feed the poor in other countries. Ask God what He would have you do. Everyone can help someone somewhere. If we will simply ask God what our part in this.

Look around you. There are heartbroken and troubled people everywhere. People are hopeless and helpless. This too is a form of poverty. The bible tells us that Jesus went about doing good. He met people at their point of need. He went even further than their needs and asked them what they wanted.

If we will ask, God will show us what to do, whom to help, and where we need to be in order to do it. Everyone without Jesus is poor; they just may not realize it. When they do, someone needs to help them. Those who are poor need someone to tell them that Jesus can help. Better yet, they need someone to help them in the name of Jesus so they will know how good He is and how much he cares. People who do not care about the poor are poor, because they will never know true riches. God help us to see and care for the poor.