The Power of Meekness

{Image Caption}

“Meek is weak.” That was it. That was all she said. My naïve eyes were opened that day. It wasn’t just that she cut the legs out from under my godly womanhood comment with her curt, dagger-like, one. No. I realized, in that moment, that she had just exposed the single most powerful lie that the Devil has been feeding to women since the Garden of Eden. Obviously she believed it.  Many others in the room agreed with her; and I know that countless women across the globe base their lives on it. Maybe you are one of those women…

No! I wanted to scream it then and I want to scream it now. No! Meekness is not weakness! Meekness is strength. Meekness is power. Meekness is the beautiful role that we women are called to step into. The idea that meekness is somehow equivalent to weakness has given the woman excuse after excuse to sidestep her role of godly womanhood for “bigger and better” things. But, before I go too deeply into that statement, I need to first make sure that we get a more biblical view of what meekness is.

The term “meek” has earned a very negative connotation in today’s society. Even now, as we discuss it, you’re probably visualizing a beat horse devoid of spirit or an abusive relationship where the woman must live in fear of the ever-controlling male. Let me start by saying that neither of those examples are at all close to the biblical aspiration of meekness. We know that God, the Creator and Redeemer of our souls, loves us. He’s proven that in many instances throughout the Bible; the foremost being when Jesus, God-in-flesh, traded the glory of paradise for this wretched world just to remove the shackles of sin from us and pay for them on the cross in our place. This very same God promised wonderful things for us. [Jeremiah 29:11] So why do we assume that a trait He’s asking us to possess is degrading? Because, ladies, we’ve been deceived.

What better tactic for the devil to use than to convince God’s people that His plan for them is a bad thing? That sounds strangely similar to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Hmm….  So, if we are in agreement that meekness isn’t a weak, spiritless quality; then what is it? To answer that I’m going to quote the two men in my life that I love and respect the most: My God and My Daddy. For the sake of flow, I’ll start with daddy’s.

My dad married a remarkable woman and together they have raised 6 children so far; 5 of them being daughters. He has always desired biblical meekness and submission from his wife and daughters; not because he wants limp noodles to dominate over, but because he realizes the true power that those qualities develop in a woman and he wants us to have the knowledge to claim that power. I’m an independent girl and I ask a lot of questions. There have been multiple occasions where I’ve asked why. Why meekness? What in the world is it? Why do I have to be it? With a patient smile he said something like this:

A woman is like an ox. Now before you get all offended over this and go nuts, think about it for a second. Oxen are powerful. Oxen are physically strong. Oxen are able to grind out a hard day’s work without hardly breaking a sweat. Oxen are dependable and capable. Oxen have the physical ability to do whatever they please. They could break out of their pens, they could run people down, they could even injure or kill their handlers. Yet you don’t watch the news and hear of the ox doing those things. Rather the powerful, capable ox submits, or allows himself to be guided, under the practiced hands of the farmer. My dad would go on to say that I am like that ox. I am strong. I am capable. I can work hard like, (sometimes hardER than) a boy. There are skills and talents and abilities that I have that could allow me to be self-reliant, and that can be a very good thing in some situations, but the Lord has placed me in the role of submission.

I’ll be the first to admit that I can be pretty strong-willed. I already admitted that I’m independent. There have been times, multiple times actually, that I’ve barely held in the comment “I can do that better than you with my skirt on!” I used to think that my kind of spirit would have to be broken before I could be meek, and to an extent that’s true- the extent in which my will needs to become void to that of God’s. If you are like me, know that there is hope for us! As long as we are humble in our relationship with God, He can and will use our strength for great things in His kingdom! But anyway…

Even more important than my dad’s opinion is my God’s. Whenever I have questions, I’m learning to go to Him for answers. In this case, I’ll start with a statement directly out of the mouth of Jesus:

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” [Matthew 5:5]

So… meekness brings blessings?! Huh! No wonder the devil doesn’t want us to possess it.

God’s Word also tells us this:

“For the Lord [takes] pleasure in His people, He will beautify the meek with salvation.” [Psalm 149:4]

And Finally (although there are many more examples):

“You should clothe yourself instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a [meek] and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.” [1 Peter 3:4]

“So precious to God.” See, ladies? Our obedience in meekness is “precious to God.” I don’t know about you, but that sounds glorious to me! Just the idea that me, little worthless old me, can do something “precious” in God’s sight is so amazing. I don’t even deserve that privilege; and neither do you…

What might be some practical ways to exhibit and grow in meekness? For starters, how about not always needing to be right and have the last word all the time? Maybe instead of talking about people, you could pray for them? Perhaps you could engage in quiet, personal, relationship time with Christ more than you outwardly worship in public? What about being first time obedient to your parents, especially your dad, without questioning his reasons? Here’s a big one, what if we were to uplift our future spouse in prayer- lift the whole relationship in prayer, instead of flirting around and flaunting our availability?  

I leave you with one final word on this tonight. Never mistake your gentle and quiet, your meek spirit for weakness. Never allow the culture of this world to push down because of practicing submission. Remember, meekness is powerful stuff, and, more importantly than that, it’s precious to God.