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May 11, 2026<\/span><\/p>\n The Beatitudes: A Journey of Becoming, Not Doing<\/strong><\/span> Lee en espa\u00f1ol<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.\u201d Matthew 5:3-4 (CSB)<\/em><\/p>\n For several years, I\u2019ve been trying to learn Brazilian jujitsu with my son, and let me tell you: It is a gut check.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not young, I\u2019m not fast, and it\u2019s not uncommon for some 16-year-old to submit me. I think I\u2019ve finally mastered the hip escape or the baseball choke, and then boom<\/em> \u2014 a new position, a new opponent, and I\u2019m back to white-belt zero. It\u2019s a relentless, humbling cycle of being broken down and built back up.<\/p>\n If we\u2019re honest, life can be a lot like that, can\u2019t it? You hit a high where you feel like you\u2019re finally cruising, and then you slam into a season in the valley, getting worn out and maybe a little lost, wondering where God is. We\u2019ve been sold this illusion that the Christian life is a graph that only moves up and to the right. But that\u2019s not reality.<\/p>\n When Jesus stepped up to teach in Matthew 5, fresh off healing massive crowds, He didn’t give a TED Talk. He gave the foundational operating system for a beautiful, unshakable life. We call them the Beatitudes. Many of us have looked at these as a spiritual checklist. Pure in heart? Check. Merciful? Check.<\/em> It feels like another set of rules to earn something.<\/p>\n But what if the Beatitudes aren\u2019t a list of things we must do<\/em>? What if they are a rock-solid promise of who Jesus is building us to be<\/em>?<\/p>\n \u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit \u2026 Blessed are those who mourn \u2026\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 5:3-4).<\/p>\n The word \u201cblessed\u201d<\/em> here means a deep, heavy joy that cannot be shaken by circumstances. It\u2019s a peace that holds steady right in the eye of the storm.<\/p>\n Jesus isn\u2019t looking for people who have their lives perfectly assembled. He\u2019s inviting you, right in the middle of your glorious mess, to let Him forge these qualities in you. He doesn\u2019t just want the polished, Sunday-best part of your life. He wants the whole thing \u2014 your mind, body, ragged soul.<\/p>\n Picture a magnificent tapestry. The front is a stunning masterpiece, but if you flip it over, it\u2019s a chaotic tangle of knots, loose ends, and stray threads. That\u2019s what God does with our broken, knotty lives. He takes the heartbreaks, the deep disappointments, the confusing struggles, and He weaves them into something breathtaking. Every high, every devastating low, every moment, is part of His refining process, shaping us into people of mercy, purity, and peace.<\/p>\n Your journey isn\u2019t a straight line; it\u2019s a coiling thread, looping through ups and downs but always progressing. And God is right there with you, using every single bit of it to transform you.<\/p>\n Lord, thank You for loving me in every season and inviting all of me. Help me to surrender my worries and to trust Your work in my life. Shape me to be more like You, even when I can\u2019t see the way forward. In Jesus\u2019 Name, Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n The Beatitudes reveal how God is shaping you into His image, not through a checklist but through His grace. Embrace this transformational journey with Becoming Like Jesus<\/em>, the new book from pastor Matt Chandler.<\/p>\n Check out the new podcast series Between Sundays with the Chandlers<\/em>, where Matt and his wife Lauren share honest, Scripture-rooted conversations about following Jesus in the middle of everyday life \u2014 whether that\u2019s navigating work, raising kids, managing relationships, or handling the week\u2019s busyness.<\/p>\n Enter to WIN your very own copy of Becoming Like Jesus<\/em><\/strong> by Matt Chandler. To celebrate this book, Matt\u2019s publisher will give away 5 copies! Enter to win by filling out the form here. {We\u2019ll randomly select 5 winners and notify them via email by Monday, May 18, 2026.}<\/p>\n Hebrews 13:5, \u201cKeep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, \u2018I will never leave you nor forsake you\u2019\u201d (ESV).<\/p>\n Matthew 11:28-30, \u201cCome to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light\u201d (ESV).<\/p>\n Think back on a recent season of life that felt like a valley. How might you reframe that experience if you knew God was using it to build one of the Beatitudes in you?<\/p>\n Read the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-11. Which one feels the most challenging for you right now, and how can you invite God into that specific area of your life this week? Share with us in the comments!<\/p>\n \u00a9 2026 by Matt Chandler. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n Proverbs 31 Ministries May 11, 2026 The Beatitudes: A Journey of Becoming, Not DoingMATT CHANDLER Lee en espa\u00f1ol \u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.\u201d Matthew 5:3-4 (CSB) For several years, I\u2019ve been trying to learn Brazilian jujitsu with my son, and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[5293,86,269,268,289,270,181],"class_list":{"0":"post-28434","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-devotionals","8":"tag-beatitudes","9":"tag-daily","10":"tag-devotional","11":"tag-encouragement","12":"tag-journey","13":"tag-proverbs","14":"tag-today"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
MATT CHANDLER <\/span><\/p>\nOUR FAVORITE THINGS<\/h4>\n
ENGAGE<\/h4>\n
FOR DEEPER STUDY<\/h4>\n
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"