In our previous two posts, we have looked at recognizing our spiritual poverty and our sin, leading us successively to the kingdom of heaven and to mourn. We have taken a serious look at both who we are and our need for God. He’s not the one who abandons us. We walk away from Him through our spiritual apathy and sin.
Once we have identified the depravity of our own sin and it finally begins breaking our heart, what exactly do we do about it? How do we go about healing? Maybe, the more important question, how do we keep this from happening again?
This week’s post leads us to our third point, known in the Bible as one of The Beatitudes. We will be diving into Matthew 5:5.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Many Christians, especially those who are newer to the Christian faith, will confuse the word “meek” with “weak.” For one, the two words have a familiar sound. Also, those who are newer to following Jesus will commonly take His love and kindness as Him being weak. This couldn’t be further from the truth, especially when we are discussing what it means to be meek.
If you follow horse racing, you have probably heard the statement, “The meekest horse wins the race.” Think about this for a minute. A horse is a powerful animal, regardless of if it is racing or not. How crazy would this be to say the weakest competitor is going to win? With horse racing, there is a lot of betting at stake. I am not a gambler, but I cannot see someone putting a lot of money on the weakest animal competing!
What It Means to Be Meek
When Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek,” He is saying blessed are the people who have turned their will and their lives over to Him. If you think about our previous two posts, this will naturally make sense. We have realized how broken we are compared to God, and this finally begins breaking our hearts. If the way we have been living hurts this much, it makes sense to hand the reins of our lives to Him.
Back to our example of the horse race. The meekest horse is going to win. This isn’t because they charge off from the starting line doing whatever they think is necessary. This is because they allow the jockey to determine when they move and where they move to. The horse gives complete control to the one riding. Only by doing this, the horse becomes the swiftest animal in the competition.
The same can be said with our lives. The more control we give to God, the better things are going to be for us. This doesn’t translate to us always winning and coming out on top in every individual race. There will be difficulties. Still, when we are meek, we can always rely on the fact that we are exactly where God wants us to be.
He is in complete control. Every decision we make, everything we do is based on God’s will for our lives. This doesn’t make us weak people. As a matter of fact, this makes us stronger than we ever could have been on our own. As frustrating as life can be at times, we find peace knowing God has led us exactly where He wants us to be. This allows us to keep our focus on Him instead of the situations and circumstances around us.
Trusting God
Obviously, a horse will go through a lot of training before it is ever put in a race. Time will be spent between the horse and jockey. A level of trust must be developed. An animal as strong and powerful as a horse isn’t just going to allow a rider to climb on and take control.
For us to become meek, we need to spend time developing trust with God. I’ll be honest, with as many decades as I spent studying other religions, this wasn’t exactly easy. It definitely didn’t happen overnight.
This is why God’s eight points of blessed living are in a specific order. Only through being poor in spirit can we admit He is right, and we are not. And only through that revelation are we able to mourn over our brokenness. When this mourning is authentic, it will lead to us trusting God. When we have finally exhausted ourselves trying on our own, we are going to see our need for Him.
The goal is to trust God more today than we did yesterday. Becoming meek is a process, not an event. When you put your heart into this and allow space in your day to be mindful of where you are in any given moment, you will get good at adjusting your thinking. In the most frustrating moments, it’s time to return to point one and seek His blessing through letting Him be your all powerful, accurate, always right, perfectly faithful, encouraging, wanting the best for you God (point 1). Which will lead us to mourn and be comforted (point 2), which will lead us to meekness and inheriting the earth (point 3)! Therefore, our eight points are not a one-and-done process. They become a fluid part of our daily lives. The Beatitudes, our eight points of blessed living, will become what we strive for every day.
Inheriting the Earth
As we become meek, the here and now becomes less and less important. Our focus is not what is going on around us. Instead, our priority becomes eternity. This is where both faith and trust play a huge role in what we are doing. This is how we inherit the earth. You and I are “interviewing” to rule and reign with Christ in the new heavens and new earth. I am praying we will both be there serving Him together!
As this begins to take shape in our lives, we will start experiencing God. We will become more aware of His presence in our daily lives. This happens through our thoughts and the way we live. We start seeing God interact in the lives of others and our own. Because God is in control and guiding us, He makes sure we are where we need to be to see Him at work.
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