Jesus tells us in the third Beatitude that those who are meek are happy, and they will inherit the earth. The world associates meekness with weakness and thinks that only the strong can be happy and inherit the earth. Once again, Jesus’ teaching turns the world’s views upside down.

In Welcome to the Upside Down, we talked about the blueprint for happiness that Jesus set out for us in the Beatitudes. We learned that the first step to finding true happiness is to be “poor in spirit.” To be poor in spirit, we must forget our self-interests and crown Jesus the king of our hearts. In Happy are the Sad, we discovered the second step to finding true happiness is to mourn our sins and choose the path of godly sorrow, which leads to salvation and comfort.

The third step to finding true happiness can only be taken after accomplishing steps one and two. Jesus calls us to meekness. The Greek word for meek is “praus” and means gentle. In Matthew 11:29, Jesus described himself as “humble and gentle at heart,” in other words, “meek.” Not only did Jesus describe himself as meek, but He constantly displayed His meekness by yielding His power to the control and purposes of God. Jesus had power but chose not to exercise it.

Meekness is Not Weakness

By studying Jesus, we see that meekness is not weakness; it is power under control. A wild horse is powerful but cannot be used to accomplish the purpose of its master until it submits to the master’s direction. Just because the horse submits doesn’t mean that it is weak, only that its power is under control and can be wielded to accomplish the purpose of its master. 

Jesus calls the citizens of His kingdom to meekness so that God can use them to accomplish His plans and purposes. When we follow our own plans and purposes without submitting to the direction of God, we won’t accomplish God’s plans and purposes, which always far exceed our own.

Blueprint for Meekness

We understand that Jesus calls us to meekness, but what does meekness look like for a kingdom citizen? Psalm 37 is most likely the Old Testament teaching that Jesus was referring to when he said the meek would inherit the earth. Psalm 37 describes character traits that a person must have to be meek. To be meek, you must:

1. Trust in the Lord

Meek people do not worry about God coming through on their behalf but trust the Lord with all aspects of their life. Jesus tells us in John 14:1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.” Jesus continued to encourage His disciples to trust God by teaching them to pray this way: “Give us today the food we need.” (Matthew 6:11). Notice Jesus didn’t pray for God’s provision for tomorrow, only for today. He wants us to trust God day by day and not worry about tomorrow. Jesus tells the disciples in Matthew 6:25-34 not to worry about what they eat or drink, or what they wear because God will provide for them just as he does the birds and the lilies in the field. He says that these worries “dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.” He goes on to say, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Finally, He says “don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries…”

2. Delight in the Lord

Meek people delight in the Lord above all else. To delight in someone means to take pleasure in them, to make them the most important thing in your life. If you delight in someone you want to please them. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:10 to “Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.”

God has set out all we need to know about pleasing Him in His Word. The Word tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). It tells us that we please God when we are spiritually, not worldly-minded (Romans 8:6-8), and when we “do good” (Hebrews 13:16). Jesus delighted in God and God delighted in Jesus. In John 8:29 Jesus said of God, “For I always do what pleases him” and in Matthew 17:5, God said of Jesus, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The Father and Son delighted in each other. Jesus is our perfect example of delighting in the Lord.

3. Commit Your Ways to the Lord

The Hebrew translates the verb commit as to roll or roll onto. Meek people roll their ways onto the Lord. Peter summed this up when he said, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1st Peter 5:7). The idea is that we should trust that God will take care of all of our worries and cares.

4. Still Yourself and Wait Patiently for the Lord

Meek people are still before the Lord and wait patiently for him trusting that He will take care of them in His own time. Waiting on God means recognizing that He is God and that everything worth waiting for comes from Him. David understood this well. In Psalm 62 he said, “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken…Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.” God promises us that when we wait patiently on Him that he will “renew our strength” (Isaiah 40:31) and that we will be blessed (Isaiah 30:18).

5. Refrain from Anger and Turn from Wrath

The last characteristic of a meek person is the ability to refrain from anger and turn from wrath even in the face of adversity, persecution, and injustice. The meek can do this because they trust in the Lord, they delight in the Lord, they commit their ways to the Lord, they are still before the Lord and they wait patiently for Him. Jesus said, “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.” (Luke 6:27-32)

The ability to refrain from anger and turn from wrath is the ultimate display of meekness. Jesus constantly exercised meekness in the face of adversity, persecution, and injustice. He refrained from exercising His power outside the will of God. Even in the face of injustice, Jesus refrained from anger and wrath all the while submitting to the plans of His Father. Jesus trusted in the Lord, He delighted in the Lord, He was still before the Lord and waited patiently on Him. Jesus was in tune with God’s voice and God’s direction. Jesus completely submitted to God.

Meekness in Action

Meekness is not something that comes to us naturally, it is a kingdom quality developed by the Holy Spirit in us. At times we will face adversity, persecution, and injustice in our lives. During those times, we will be presented with a choice: will we submit to the direction and control of God by trusting in Him, delighting in Him, being still and waiting for Him or will we instead take things into our own hands which can lead us down the path to anger and wrath?

God wants us to submit to Him so that He can use us for His plans and purposes. If we constantly buck against God and refuse to submit to Him, then God can’t use the strengths and talents He gave us to accomplish His purposes. 

I choose to trust God. I choose to delight in God. I choose to commit my ways to God. I choose to be still before God and wait patiently for Him. I know that by doing these things when I am faced with adversity, persecution, or injustice that in God’s power I will be able to refrain from anger and turn from wrath.

How about you? Who do you choose to trust? God or yourself?