Beatitude 1: Depend on God
Bible Readings
Take a few minutes to read the Bible verses listed and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in how this verse applies to you this week.
1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the side of a mountain and sat down. Jesus' disciples gathered around him, 2 and he taught them: 3 God blesses those people who depend only on him. They belong to the kingdom of heaven! 4 God blesses those people who grieve. They will find comfort! 5 God blesses those people who are humble. The earth will belong to them! 6 God blesses those people who want to obey him more than to eat or drink. They will be given what they want! 7 God blesses those people who are merciful. They will be treated with mercy! 8 God blesses those people whose hearts are pure. They will see him! 9 God blesses those people who make peace. They will be called his children! 10 God blesses those people who are treated badly for doing right. They belong to the kingdom of heaven. 11 God will bless you when people insult you, mistreat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me. 12 Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven. People did these same things to the prophets who lived long ago.
Matthew 5:1-12
12 About that time Jesus went off to a mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night there. 13 The next morning he called his disciples together and chose twelve of them to be his apostles. 14 One was Simon, and Jesus named him Peter. Another was Andrew, Peter's brother. There were also James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus. The rest of the apostles were Simon, known as the Eager One, 16 Jude, who was the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed Jesus.
Luke 6:12-16
Memory Verse
Matthew 5:3
3 God blesses those people who depend only on him. They belong to the kingdom of heaven!
This week’s verse is all about dependence. But what does it mean to depend on God?
Dependence means that you can trust him to take care of you. In Luke 12:22-28, Jesus tells us that we should trust him to care for us because we can see how God takes care of the birds and the flowers.
But depending on God means more than just trusting him. It also means asking him for advice. We know this because Jesus was always asking God for guidance. Think about the many times in the Bible where he slipped away to pray, like in Luke 6:12-16. In this passage, Jesus is about to pick his twelve best friends. Instead of eenie-meenie-miney-mo-ing the decision, he left everyone behind and prayed an entire night, asking God who he should choose. Then, in the morning, he returned and picked his 12 disciples.
Just like Jesus, we need to depend on God and ask him for advice before making big decisions, like who we will be friends with, what we will do for after-school activities, or which shows and movies we will watch.
Can you think of one way to practice relying on God this week? It doesn’t have to be a big decision. Sometimes, the best way to learn how to depend on someone is to start small.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for being there for me. Help me remember to talk to you before making big decisions, even some little ones. Please forgive me for the times when I thought I could do it all on my own. In Jesus’ name, Amen.Related Resources
Christina Van Starkenburg
Christina Van Starkenburg is an award-winning freelance writer and author of The Key Thief and One Tiny Turtle: A Story You Can Colour. In her free time, she enjoys reading, dancing, and exploring the world with her husband and three kids. Visit her at www.christinavanstarkenburg.com to read more.