“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” — Matthew 5:5

“But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” — Psalms 37:11

We’re on a mini-series discussing the different metaphors for trust. When I was thinking about the theme of today’s message, I started out musing on the obvious words that people routinely employ when talking about trust: humility, vulnerability, openness, etc. But then I remembered a curious word that is used in most Bible translations yet isn’t regularly used in common speech: meekness. We don’t like to think of ourselves as meek. When I picture someone who’s meek, I think of some old dowdy milquetoast minister who’d rather play an organ and arrange flowers for Mrs. McGillicutty than charge forth boldly to storm the gates of hell and change the world. But maybe I’m wrong, because there is someone who perfectly fits the image of meekness: Jesus. Come to me, He says, for I am meek and lowly of heart. Jesus…meek? Jesus, the man who violently chased the moneychangers out of the temple? Jesus, the man who cast demons into pigs and damned the religious leaders to hell? Jesus, the man who walked on water, healed the sick, raised the dead, and traveled around the countryside preaching to crowds of thousands?

Jesus was meek because Jesus walked in complete submission to the Father. He trusted His Father in Heaven so completely and depended on Him so absolutely that Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19). Jesus didn’t one day decide to go do his own “thang” and see how that shakes out. He knew that there was an eternal plan, a destiny, a reward greater than any earthly reward, and He had complete confidence that as long as He was walking in that path, everything would turn out for the ultimate good.

So if that’s what being meek is all about, I’ll be proud to call myself meek. (Hmm, isn’t that an oxymoron?) I want to trust and lean on God so completely that everything I do or say flows out of that intimate relationship with the Father. I tried going my own way and forging ahead on my own path, and all I got was a lot of running in place and frustration. Yet when I hide under the shadow of His wing, I am at peace. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)