“I don’t wanna move so fast,

May You be my first priority,

And I don’t wanna put You last,

I just wanna give You all of me,

So slow me down, slow me down

Take my eyes off what’s around,

Your Spirit’s moving here and now,

And I don’t wanna miss Your presence,

Not in a rush, I’d rather wait,

Unite my heart to bring You praise,

Tomorrow’s calling, but today,

I don’t wanna miss Your presence (come on)”

These are words from a song that’s been on repeat the last couple months on my phone.

It echoes and resonates with my spirit so much and I love when I find artistic expressions of heart feelings that I couldn’t even make into words

Not every season with God requires acceleration and speed, sometimes the good for us is to slow down and in such a noisy generation as ours, there’s really no more ideal norm than slowing down.

I read a John piper article recently on the poor in spirit, he ended the article linking that verse to the succeeding one that says “blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted”. He argues that it’s no coincidence that the verses follow themselves because the poor in spirit constantly mourn self. Everyday, the man in Christ wakes and makes it a point of call to crucify that self and then mourn the result of that crucifixion. 

The article starts with a claim from an atheist who insists that Christianity is often chosen by the lazy, dependent man who can’t stand on his own. The exact words the atheist uses is “a crutch who can’t make it on their own”.

It won’t be the first time I’ve heard such a description of Christian’s or people of faith, and often times we find ourselves thinking we need to defend this, claiming some sort of spiritual intellectualism to prove that we’re no crutch, but we’re in need of a Christ.

But on reflection, we realise that the poor in spirit is actually the man who realises and accepts that he indeed is a crutch who cannot make it on their own. Theres no clearer description. There’s no shame in the admittance of our helplessness. Because once we’ve discovered that our most superior self, or the best of our self cannot help us, we will resort to help wherever it is, and for the man in Christ, we find that sufficient help in Christ. 

We wake daily and realise the extent of our crutch, it’s not one causing a mere limp, it is total ruin in need of daily help and support.

People in need of support are always sensitive and attentive to the one who gives them that support because imagine a cripple without his crutch. And that’s why we slow down, consciously and frequently, to pay attention to where our help comes from, because of such does the kingdom belong.