7 Blessings of Helping the Poor

The story is told of a very poor man, who lived near a rich widow. One day she had her orchard trimmed and pruned and after it was all done, the cut limbs and branches lay by the fence. The poor man passed by and asked her a small favor.

"Can I have those branches to burn for fuel?"

"Oh no," she replied, "I want to keep them and burn there here, so the ashes can enrich my ground."

The poor man was very disappointed and went away sad.

Imagine! Ground enriched to the neglect of the poor!

And yet so often, we find ourselves doing the same thing or similar things to those we consider to be "poor" among us.

But what if we were to actually help the poor instead of turning them away from us?

Psalms 41 has 7 blessings that come from helping the poor. Let's discover them today.

Psalms 41:1-3 says, "Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness."

Psalms 41:1 basically says this: "Blessed (happy) is he that considereth (to attend to; to relieve) the poor (destitute of value; depressed, low); The Lord will deliver (save, rescue) him in time of trouble (affliction)."

So the first blessing of helping the poor is God will save us in our own affliction. When we bless others, it comes back to bless us! Our own condition of receiving mercy from God is to show mercy to others.

Then it continues in verse 2, "The Lord will preserve (to keep or save from injury) him, and keep (to uphold or sustain) him alive; and he shall be blessed (happy) upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver (transfer) him until the will of his enemies."

There are the next blessings of helping the poor! Number 2 is God will keep us safe! When we help others, especially the poor, God will reward us in giving us heavenly protection and keep us from injury.

Number 3 is God will sustain us in the Christian life. As we continue helping the poor, God will uphold and sustain us in our own walk with Him. It is vitally important to our own Christian walk with God to be sharing to others and those less fortunate than ourselves.

It's like a glass of water. If you keep filling water into it, eventually it will get full and before you can add anything more to it, you must empty (drink) some out of it. The more we want to receive from God, the more we must give to others! It's a simple formula! :)

Number 4 is that God will give us happiness upon the earth. Everyone on earth seems to be looking for happiness and yet many times they are looking in the wrong places! One of the easiest ways of getting happiness is to help the poor, because God promises us happiness when we do so!

Number 5 is that God will help us overcome our enemies. As we help others (especially the poor), we are promised that God will help us overcome all our enemies. In fact, one of the best ways of dealing with your enemies is to help them and bless them!

Romans 12:20 says, "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." So the best way of dealing with your enemies is to help them, whether they are poor or not! But especially if they're poor too!

Then Psalms 41:3 says, "The Lord will strengthen (encourage) him upon the bed of languishing (withering, feeble); thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness (make a bed means to put it in a suitable form)."

Here we find the sixth and seventh blessings of helping the poor. Number 6 is the God will encourage him when he is weak. Many times we feel weak, feeble or depressed and the best solution for those feelings to go and help someone especially the poor. As we help others, our own spirits become lighter and happier and we think less and less of self.

Number 7 is the God will give us healing. Here it's talking about making a bed. Why do we make the bed? So that it's neat and looks nice and presentable. We restore the bed from a state of disaster or confusion to a state of order and respect.

Many people today are suffering from diseases and illnesses which usually originate in the mind. If the mind is healthy, the body is healthy too! And when the mind is busy thinking of others and seeking how it can bless them, healing in the body also follows.

Mount of Blessing, page 23 says, "There is sweet peace for the compassionate spirit, a blessed satisfaction in the life of self-forgetful service for the good of others. The Holy Spirit that abides in the soul and is manifest in the life will soften hard hearts and awaken sympathy and tenderness. You will reap that which you sow."

Remember Acts 20:35? It says, "It is more blessed to give than to receive..."

People need people. There was a little girl named Laurie who was 3 years old. One night, she asked her mother for help to get undressed and ready for bed. Mother was downstairs and she was upstairs and so mother said, "Laurie, you already know how to get undress and ready for bed."

Mother Teresa helping a poor child

Laurie said, "Yes, Mom, but sometimes people need people anyway, even if they do know how to do things by themselves."

Yes, we do need other people and we need to be the helping hand for them to see Jesus through us.

Here's the key to happiness:

J - Jesus 1st

O - Others 2nd

Y - Yourself 3rd

Let's help the poor and watch the many wonderful blessings that will come to us because of it!