Bride-Atude Three: The Mighty Meek

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

“God helps those who help themselves” the world screams at us. Success belongs to the aggressive and the assertive. Admiration is for those who go after what they want at any cost.

Not surprisingly, success in the Kingdom looks somewhat different.

The King of Kings walked meekly among men such that He would not even break a bent reed or quench a dying flame (Matt. 11:29; 12:20; 21:5). The Son of God had no need to prove Himself, His authority or His credentials. His voice was not heard crying out in the streets to draw attention or collect more followers. The meek Bride marches to the same drum, happiest when going about her Father’s business unhindered and unknown. She just doesn’t crave the limelight, and because of this God bestows on her the real mark of success: His trust.

But meek ain’t weak; quite the opposite in fact. The meek are actually incredibly strong in character. Meekness goes hand in hand with humility and both are highly esteemed by God.

Moses is a good example of the combination of meekness and humility and in his day was called the most humble man on earth (Num. 12:3). Moses wouldn’t even get to first interview stage for leadership in the majority of our churches or business organizations today. Just the fact that he spoke with a stammer would likely be enough to disqualify him from serious consideration (Ex. 4:10). Yet God chose Moses to lead His people at a most crucial time in their history because of his meekness. Moses, armed only with his stammer and his shepherd’s rod, was endorsed by God before all the elders of Israel and the mighty Egyptian Pharaoh (Exodus chapters 4 –14). And it was Moses who was summoned into the manifest Presence of God (Ex. 19:3).

We can discern the meek among us by their willingness to say their piece, do their thing, and then disappear back into the crowd unrecognized and unrewarded.

God is comfortable around the meek because they’re not contending for His glory. Consequently He blesses them with tremendous authority in the spiritual realm. We will not appreciate the full value of all the meek have achieved here on earth until we reach Heaven. They are the quiet achievers of the Kingdom.

And out of this strong meekness comes, wait for it….the fruit of gentleness. The meek can afford to be gentle because they know who they are. And they’re more likely to hitch a ride on a gentle donkey than in the back seat of a chauffeur driven limousine (Mark 21:5).

More Bride-Atudes to come!

©Cheryl McGrath, Bread for the Bride, 2012