“The meek also shall increase their joy in The Lord.” Isaiah 29:19
Meekness is not a momentary decision, but a way of life. It is an intentional daily decision to set our own desires aside and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Someone has described biblical meekness as “putting the bit in your own mouth and handing the reigns over to God.” It is an humble attention to and acceptance of the will of God.
Meekness is often mistaken for weakness, but those two things are much different. Where weakness is a lack of strength, meekness actually a show of great strength under God’s control. Meekness without God might very well be weakness, but in God’s hands it is powerful beyond understanding. Cultures have turned on the meekness of great men and women. Hearts have been changed. Circumstances have been controlled. Pain has been alleviated.
Meekness is a balm that heals when revenge cannot. Meekness is great faith, great commitment, and great determination to follow in the steps of Christ. Christ did not
weakly go to the cross, but in meekness.
He faced it accepting the will of the Father. We too, are required on a daily basis to live a meek life before God. When he requires sacrifice, meekness trusts completely and gives willingly. When he demands obedience, meekness ignores selfish desires, crucifies personal ambition, and performs joyfully the good will of God. When we desire to do what would please us, meekness allows us to do what is pleasing to God.
It is for this reason that the joy of the meek will continually increase. The meek can find comfort in personal circumstances that the weak cannot find. The meek’s happiness is not derived from fleeting popularity; their fulfillment does not come from public success; their pleasure is not obtained in vengeance or revenge. The meek know when to advance and when to step back. The meek will stand strong they should and not just when it feels good.
D.L. Moody was the most famous evangelist in the world in the late 1800s. People came from around the world to attend his Bible Conferences in Northfield, Massachusetts. One year a large group of pastors from Europe were among the attendees. They were given rooms in the dormitory of the Bible school. As was the custom in Europe, the men put their shoes outside the door of their room, expecting them to be cleaned and polished by servants during the night.
Of course there were no servants in the American dorm, but as Moody was walking through the halls and praying for his guests, he saw the shoes and realized what had happened. He mentioned the problem to a few of his students, but none of them offered to help. Moody gathered up the shoes and took them back to his own room where he began to clean and polish each pair. Moody told no one what he had done, but a friend who interrupted him in the middle of shining the shoes and helped him finish the task later told the story of what had happened. Despite the praise and fame he received because of God’s blessing on his life and ministry, Moody remained a humble man.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God and King of Heaven, had the right to honor, praise, and worship. Yet to be our Saviour, He laid all of His privileges aside and became a lowly servant. We often hear people talk of living as Jesus lived, and while He truly is the model for us to follow, many who speak of following Him are unwilling to give up their rights and reflect His humility. We will never be like Jesus unless we are humble and lowly.
The meek find their joy in The Lord- in their trust of The Lord. As the meek trust God more, the more they have of Him, the more they have of Him, the more they know of Him, the more they know of Him, the more their joy is increased, and the more their joy is increased, the more they understand the difference between weakness and meekness- the more they understand how to be strong but not wrong.
Without Christ we will always be confused about meekness truly is. Without Christ we will constantly be guessing what to do in any given situation. It is thought by many that meekness robs us of nobility, but I would say that it is the very essence of nobility. Nothing more noble has ever been done than Christ’s humble sacrifice on the cross. Nothing has taken more strength. God did not say the weak would inherit the earth, but He did make another promise. I think we all know what that was.