The Grand Finale

So, here we are on Week 3 of our Matthew 5 “ladder” of a life given to, lived for (& through), & hoped in God!

It’s exciting to see the growth we can experience as we surrender more of ourselves to the hope & security & strength & peace & wisdom of God, isn’t it!? So much better than going it alone & in your own strength, wisdom, & willpower.

This week covers the last few rungs of this ladder, but first, a quick recap.

(To catch up on the first 6 rungs of this ladder of a life lived for God, make sure to read Part 1 & Part 2 by clicking their respective links.)

We started off by reading Matthew 5:1-12, which you can click here to read on Biblegateway.com before we get started.

So, here is what we have covered so far:

1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit…”

This one refers to a personal awareness of our own sin (doing it our way & disregarding or rebelling against God’s way), our own depravity (inability to even the scales & save ourselves), & our need for Someone outside of ourselves to make us right again before God (AKA Jesus Christ—read more about this on my Hope Is Found tab on this site.)

We are blessed in this realization, as Matthew 5 tells us, because we can then be made right before God & ours is the kingdom of heaven. Pretty great, right?!

2. “Blessed are those who mourn…”

Once we realize how truly wrong we really are in God’s eyes (the only ones that actually matter in light of our eternal punishment or peace), despite our lifelong efforts to prove how good we are, but always coming up short… it is only natural to mourn… to feel the weight of our wrongs & our sin & how much we have disappointed God & rebelled against Him.

But, again, He promises us blessedness because He won’t leave us in our grief & mourning, but instead He promises that we shall be comforted. We have been saved (through Jesus) by a compassionate & loving God who cares for us!

3. “Blessed are the meek…”

Once we realize just how Good God is for rescuing us when we least deserve it & once He has comforted our grief over our wrongs, we step up onto rung 3 of our ladder in putting our strength & power under His control, letting Him take the reins of our lives.

We are promised blessedness in this again, because when we are letting God make the calls in our life, we find so much more richness in life as we inherit the earth.

4. “Blessed are those who hunger & thirst for righteousness…”

And now that we have a taste for this “richness in life” from giving God control of our lives more & more, we begin to naturally crave more. We begin to hunger & seek after living God’s way, as written in His Word—the Bible.

And God promises blessedness in that when we hunger & thirst for more of living His way, we will be filled.

5. “Blessed are the merciful…”

As we begin to strive after living God’s way, we see His heart for people, including us. We begin to have a heart of mercy & forgiveness for others, whether they deserve it or not (if they did deserve it, it wouldn’t be considered mercy).

We see how He has treated our sin by meeting it with grace & mercy & love & comfort… & we begin to desire to love the people He loves (*everyone) in that same way. And when we do, He promises blessedness in being shown mercy ourselves.

6. “Blessed are the pure in heart…”

As I mentioned last week, this pure in heart is intending to portray an UNDIVIDED heart. In other words, we are seeing more & more the blessings come from a life seeking to be lived God’s way that we no longer are as interested in what everything else has to offer.

We begin to filter everything through a focus of giving God the honor He so rightly deserves & making sure the world knows just how magnificent & gracious & powerful & loving He really is! Everything begins to be filtered through this focus in how we love our family & friends, spouse, children, strangers, & even our enemies. He is the true focus in how we live in all areas of our lives—the way it was always meant to be!

And guess what, God promises that we will “see God”. We will begin to hear His truth from the Bible wash across our minds in distress. We begin to hear His wisdom answer our calls for help. We begin to see His hands working all around us, His majesty & power & love coming into a fuller, brighter picture in everyday life! How amazing to strive for a life lived this way!

And now we step up to the 7^th rung of our ladder, as we near the top:

7. “Blessed are the Peacemakers…”

As I mentioned above in #6, “Everything [in life] begins to be filtered through this focus [on all God is & all He has done for us & all He rightly deserves from how we honor Him] in how we love our family & friends, spouse, children, strangers, & even our enemies.”

We are learning to see who God really is, not who people claimed He was or who we misunderstood Him to be, but who He REALLY is—gracious, kind, loving, patient, sacrificial, merciful, gentle, all-wise, all-powerful, Creator, Redeemer, Lover of all mankind… & we want the world to know Him the way we are starting to see Him.

We want to help shine the light of HOPE, pointing others to this same HOPE we have found in Jesus Christ!

It’s no longer a “take it or leave it, I don’t care,” but becomes a desperate cry of our hearts to see people find this same freedom & hope & peace & strength & wisdom & power & LOVE that we have found in Jesus!

We become the Peacemakers, seeking to share Jesus with others, so that they can find this same HOPE.

God says we will be blessed in this heart cry because we will be called children of God.

We are His. No one can change that or take that away. He holds us fast & strong for all eternity. We are sealed. We are set. We are FORGIVEN. And we want that for everyone else, too!

8. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake…”

Our flesh, our natural selves loves itself. It loves sin because it is attractive & instantly gratifying, a perverted (distorted) version of the richness of life we crave in Heaven, watered down into a sick reflection of the truth, twisted into a lie.

And people will hate us for standing against their addiction to temporary & fleeting pleasure… they won’t understand & they will hate us for it sometimes.

But yet, we know the Truth. We know its true value. We know the peace & love & grace & freedom & power wrapped up in it & given to us by the sacrificial love & blood of Jesus Christ. We know how much they all matter to HIM.

So Worth It!

And so we continue this honorable fight against that deadly grasp of sin, seeking with all our heart to honor God & give Him glory in how we love those people who reject Him but who mean SO MUCH to Him. We are peacemakers with a purpose to see the lost found, to show them hope that won’t disappoint or hurt or abandon them, but will comfort & heal & fulfill them.

And we hold on to this hope, knowing how much it matters, despite their mockery, slander, rejection, & hurt, because we know Him & we know how much they matter to Him.

And here it comes full circle, in saying that just as we realized our need for Jesus Christ & we reached out to Him as our Savior & thus we find eternal life & eternal hope by joining the Kingdom of Heaven, we are reminded once again that no matter what comes of the persecution against us & no matter how much it may hurt on any given day… Ours is the Kingdom of Heaven.

An Encouraging Arrival to the Top of the Ladder of a Life Lived for God!

This is but our temporary home—a mere shadow of the extravagant love & peace & joy that is to come where we are headed—when we go to heaven– (If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior!)

And it is repeated again at the end of Matthew 5 with more detail on how they will persecute us, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, & falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.” (Matthew 5:11)

And He (all of Matthew 5 is actually quoted from Jesus speaking) tells us just a bit more than “just” the blessedness of our part in the Kingdom in Heaven, in verse 12. “Rejoice & be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.” (Emphasis mine.)

An Eternal Hope

Life isn’t promised to be easy, ever.

But this journey is just our temporary home. We have eternal hope to look forward to.

So, come what may, we can rest in knowing to Whom we belong & to where we are going.

Keep seeking to know & love God MORE (or even at all if you need to start there). Ask for His help. It won’t happen all overnight, but it will continue to grow the more you entrust your growth to Him.

Always Trust He Is Waiting to Help You All Along the Way!

If you want it, but struggle—ask for His help.

If you want it, but feel trapped by the sparkly sin that snares you—ask for His help.

If you want it, but you’re too afraid you’re not worth it to Him—ask for His help (because He died for you!!)

If you hurt—ask for His help.

If you just don’t know how to do it—ask for His help.

If you keep failing—ask for His help (& keep failing forward).

If you feel too weak—ask for His help.

In ALL things that threaten to hold onto your ankles as you crave to climb this ladder—ASK FOR HIS HELP!!!!!

Push Out the Lies & Cling to the Truth

Don’t let Satan lie to you that a struggle means God will give up on you—He won’t!

Don’t let Satan lie to you that your past is just beyond forgiveness—because it isn’t!

Trust GOD & CLING to Him EVERY step of the way! He’s got you, babe.

Shine Hope by seeking to live a life that is ever-climbing this ladder in Matthew 5 of a life given to, lived for (& through), & hoped in GOD.

It is worth it 100%.

Coming Next Week

I hope you enjoyed these last 3 weeks as much as I did! They were such an encouragement of the hope found in diligently seeking to climb this ladder in life, why it’s SO worth it, & remembering to ask for His help every step of it!

Join me every Monday morning, EST, for more encouragement.

As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.

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A Note from Michelle:

If you would like to hear more of my story, check out the “About Me” page. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” page, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3

Also, make sure to “Join My Tribe” by adding your email to the top bar & clicking “Join My Tribe”. This gains you access to an extra weekly dose of encouragement from me in your inbox, along with the link to each week’s new post! I can’t wait to do this journey together!!

Weekly Special Spotlight:

Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Check out this week’s featured beauty!!

Lotus Earrings

Hand cut suede makes these maroon flower petal-inspired earrings a perfect statement.

Artisan Information:

In India, many women are forced to work in sweatshops with unfair pay & dangerous conditions. But with every purchase, the women who make this product are now working in a safe environment, being paid a fair wage & seeing their lives change for the better! They also have access to education & financial counseling. You are empowering women to have freedom to dream again!

Purchase this piece & empower a woman in India!

SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michelle@michellehydeonline.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!