(More from Henry’s book on Meekness.)
As in all things, Christ is our instructor in meekness. He said, “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” (Matthew 11:29).
Meekness is a heart at rest. It is not striving, it is not envious or short-tempered. A heart that is content in God can navigate wisely through life’s many provocations, including the ones around the dinner table.
If we want to imitate Christ and His meekness, we must put on His yoke. We can’t learn from Him unless we have put it on. What is His yoke? It is submission to His Word. His yoke guides us, protects us, teaches us, leads us, and keeps us. We should not trust ourselves, but be directed by God’s Word. When we ignore His Word, or think it applies to someone else, we are slipping out of the yoke of Christ. That is always a bad idea.
Take His yoke and follow His lead. This requires humility and faith, and you can’t have meekness without those two things. We let go of our own ego, and we put on Christ. We let go of the sin and follow Him in forgiveness. We believe His promises and keep our eyes on Him. This is what it means to put on His yoke, and it will necessarily cultivate meekness and quietness in our souls when we realize He is in complete control of all the circumstances, big and little, day in and day out.
Is your house ahead of you and your jogging as fast as you can to catch up? Are you provoked? Are the kids in one of those jags where everyone is fussing at each other? Are you being provoked? Let your anger drop. Keep possession of your soul! Fix your eyes on Jesus, and trust Him to bring quiet to your heart in unquiet times.
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Reminds me of your wonderful Femina article in Credenda years ago on Psalm 131:2. I have shared that verse many times (and your great insight on it) but especially with our Sophia it has been a great encouragement and help during “scarey” doctor/hospital visits for her.
Love this about meekness, too. How often it would keep me from stumbling, if I were meek instead of insisting on my way!
Thank you!
Thank you for these posts! Since becoming a mother, I have really enjoyed listening to and meditating on the song from Handel’s Messiah where he puts this Matthew verse along with a verse from Isaiah about God feeding His flock, gathering lambs with His arm, and tenderly leading those that are with young. So beautiful, and so helpful!