I want to share a few thoughts with you today about the power of meekness. One of the things I love about the Christian faith is the way it challenges the world’s way of thinking; it is radical faith! Jesus said in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” The New Living translations says, “God blesses those who are humble, for they shall inherit the whole earth.” Humility, repentance and meekness are all the starting point for receiving God’s blessing, breakthrough and favor! (2 Chron. 7:14)
In the world where we live, many times the mindset is survival of the fittest; those who are strong, ambitious go getters, are the ones who succeed. It’s about treading on as many people as we can to get to the top! Meekness and humility in the world are viewed as a form of weakness. People who are meek tend to get trampled on by those who are going places; and yet Jesus says the opposite. The foundation of our Christian faith is meekness!
The Bible says of Moses, that he was “A humble (meek) man, more humble than any man on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3). Moses had been a great Prince of Egypt and one mistake exiled him to the desert. For 40 years he lived in the desert taking care of sheep; tending the flock. Moses had been humbled. He had been broken by life and it was at this point God was ready to use him.
Now let me say something here; life has many hard and even brutal lessons, but if your faith is in Jesus, He has the ability to use all of that hardship for His plans and purposes in this world. When you are broken by life, you have a unique love and appreciation of the sufferings of others. You carry God’s heart for a broken world. This is what God was doing with Moses; He was preparing him to have a heart that identified with the suffering of his own people, held in bondage and slavery, for hundreds of years.
When Moses had his burning bush encounter, he was full of self doubt. He felt so unqualified for the enormous task God set before Him. He had no trust in his own ability. God, seeing all of this, challenged him lovingly over and over. God knew that Moses would be the kind of person who was totally dependent on Him!
And this is the theme of the entire Christian life; loving our enemies, blessing those who curse us, praying for those who despitefully use us. All of these require a dependence on God. God says don’t take vengeance for yourself; leave it to me, I will repay! (Romans 12:19). When others trample over us on the way to the top, we can pray for them and bless them because we know that in the Kingdom of God, the last shall be first and the first shall be last!
As believers, we know that as we humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand, in due time, He will lift us up. (1 Peter 5:6) Meekness and humility are not self promotion, they are Christ promotion! Meekness and humility have to do with trusting and emptying ourselves, of all that we are, so God can be revealed in and throughout our lives in greater ways. Meekness is not weakness!
Then there’s the whole issue of human relationships. Pride is at the root of all human contention. The Bible says a gentle answer turns away wrath. (Proverbs 17:1) As believers, we are called to be peacemakers. Matthew 5:9 says “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” Sometimes it’s not always about being right and proving your point, it’s about reaching out with love and healing wounds!
Peacemakers are always meek, humble people. Meekness is a powerful thing; it can calm the greatest storm. Jesus said the meek would inherit the earth. What is He saying here? I believe this has to do with the basis of our relationship with God. In Luke 18, to some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:
“Two men went up to the temple to pray; one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector; I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)
The meek will inherit all God has promised; their dependence is not in and of themselves, it is entirely based in God’s love and mercy. Humility and meekness says, “God, I humble myself and lift you up, You are the one who saves, You are the one who justifies and restores!” I also believe that the meek inheriting the earth also refers to believers and followers of Jesus, ruling and reigning on the earth, when he comes again. Great rulers are meek rulers (1 Corinthians 6:2).
I remember a song a while back, the words go “You are the God of the broken, the friend of the weak, you wash the feet of the weary, embrace the ones in need, I want to be like you Jesus, to have this heart in me, you are the God of the humble, you are the humble King.”
And today I want to encourage you, if you are walking in humility and meekness, it does not demonstrate weakness, it demonstrates an implicit reliance on the strength and ability of Almighty God! Trusting God to makes things right is wisdom! Maybe you are struggling in areas of your life with pride, we all have those struggles from time to time. I find the key is to give God the glory, to humble myself at the foot of the Cross and thank Jesus for all he has done for me. As you do this I want to encourage you, you enter the ranks of those who Jesus says, will inherit the earth!
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