Meekness is Mighty

One of the most misunderstood concepts is meekness. Being meek does not mean being a doormat, or lacking confidence. It means that you recognize you don't know everything, and you are willing to learn. It translates into being teachable.

The meek inherit the Earth because they are eager to learn, and they can take correction because they want to excel, or at least perform well enough to effectively accomplish an assigned task. Inheriting the Earth doesn't mean that only one person gets the whole planet; it means that they get a territory that they have proved they can handle.

They can be very confident in the talents God has given them, even while knowing the limits of their talents, and they are willing to acknowledge and admire other people's talents and promote their success, while they are working towards their own to the best of their ability.

Meek people know how to cooperate with others to achieve a goal. Usually, more can be accomplished by a group than by a single person. They don't have to be the boss or always have the spotlight. They are quite willing to let a more capable person take the lead, while they support the project however they can.

When I was insecure, I did not like to admit that I didn't know some basic things. If it was something that I thought everybody should know, but I didn't, I was afraid that people would think I was stupid.

For instance, I went to a flower shop with my husband to order a Christmas bouquet for a friend in another province. My husband was just as insecure and neither of us knew much about flowers. When the sales lady asked us what kind of flowers we wanted and started to rattle off suggestions, I felt panic, and I could feel it coming from my husband, too. The sales lady noticed that we were very uncomfortable and she was puzzled by it. We settled for red carnations and white chrystanthemums, a very standard combination, to get the ordeal over with quickly.

If two insecure people don't get healed and grow up, their marriage is not likely to last, and ours did not. I was devastated when my husband left me, after I insisted that he had to go to AA, and he refused. I went through a nervous breakdown that lasted four months. Durng that time, I was isolated in my home, thinking many weird thoughts, but the Lord was with me in very precious ways, to teach me His truths.

I had a vision while asleep one night, where I saw a large classroom. It had carpet going about a foot or two up the walls, such as I saw in a children's program when I was a toddler. It was called Romper Room. I saw a teacher in a far corner of the room, and she was teaching some kindergartners who sat on little chairs around her. She instructed each one by one. The child would then arise and leave the room after they were instructed. As they passed by a screen, their appearance changed and I saw they were adults.

They were adults who had finally become teachable. This vision related to Isaiah 30:20, "And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:"

This was something that a few people used to rant at me about, that I wasn't teachable. The Lord was making me teachable, and it started with realizing that there were a lot of things I didn't know that I needed to know. Meekness involved a willingness to listen to people who knew more than me in some areas, even if I knew more than them in other areas.

After I recovered from the nervous breakdown, I took a Floral Design course and learned plenty about flowers. Initially, I was jealous of the other women in the class. That first day, they talked to the teacher about various flowers and I thought they were showing off. As the course continued, I realized it is simply natural to talk about things that we know about; they weren't showing off at all. It was my inferiority complex that filtered their speech and led to my small–minded, jealous conclusions that first day.

Years later, I had to go to court to prevent my son from getting a driver's license when he turned sixteen because he wasn't ready for that responsibility. My ex–husband attended also. When the judge directed us to take a certain step, I did not know how to go about it, but by then, I was not embarassed by my lack of knowledge. I asked the judge how to go about what he had directed us to do. I noticed my ex–husband listening intently and realized that he was just as ignorant about the process as me, but still too insecure to admit it, and he was glad I had asked.

I didn't care if other people thought I was stupid because I had to ask that question. If someone did think this, it was their problem. They would be somewhat of a jackass to expect me to know that information. I am not a lawyer. I didn't have a lot of experience in courtrooms. As the saying goes, the only dumb question is the one you don't ask. Now, that isn't entirely true. Common sense can answer some questions, if one is willing to invest the time in thinking it over, but some questions require expertise.

Meekness does not mean having an "excuse me for breathing" mentality. It actually involves being comfortable with who you are, knowing what you're called to do, and trusting God to help you do more than what you're capable of on your own.

Jesus said in Matthew 1:29, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." If our Creator, the King of kings and Lord of lords, is meek, there must be a great power in being that way. It certainly hasn't diminished Him or His kingdom in any way.

I don't feel that I have explained meekness very well, yet, but I have hit on some important points.

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