Psalm 37:1-11 Yesterday the psalm we read shared about God’s character. Today Psalm 37 shares about the character of a meek person. Two people in the Bible are spoken of as meek men. The Bible tells us that Moses was the meekest man that ever lived. Of course, Moses was not divine as Jesus is. But we also know that if we want to see the complete character trait of meekness demonstrated, we must look to Jesus. Jesus exhorted us to learn of Him because He is meek and lowly of heart. Can we learn meekness? As we observe the lives of Jesus and Moses in the Bible, we can learn much about meekness. However, the key to learning about meekness is to come to Jesus. Jesus issues the invitation for us to come to Him daily and let the Holy Spirit teach us all about meekness. Meekness will only be formed in our own lives as we submit ourselves to growing in intimacy with the Lord by spending quality time with Him daily. This psalm tells us the benefits of meekness and exactly how meekness is demonstrated in our lives.
Listen to the promise issued to the meek: “The meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (Ps. 37:11, KJV). That phrase “abundance of peace” ignites the desire in me to grow in the fruit of the Spirit called “meekness.” What are the character traits of a meek person? This psalm lists eight character traits. A meek person frets not, trusts in the Lord, does good, delights in the Lord, commits his way to the Lord, rests in the Lord, waits upon the Lord and ceases from anger and forsakes wrath.
A meek person responds to people instead of acting out against them. We know that Moses did on one occasion come against God and the children of Israel, and it cost him a great blessing—the blessing of living in the Promised Land. Because a meek person trusts in the Lord, he does not fret, but instead rests and waits upon the Lord. This fruit of the Spirit can be cultivated in our lives, but there is a key condition we must fulfill for meekness to grow in our lives. The key to cultivating all nine fruit of the Spirit in our lives is spending time with the Master Gardener—Jesus. We have to take time for the preparation of the soil of our hearts to receive the seed of the Word of God, and then we have to continue to fertilize that seed daily with more of the Word of God. We must allow time in our daily lives to receive the refreshing water of the Holy Spirit. One of the tactics of the enemy in the last days is to wear out the saints, and lately I have observed many worn-out and dry Christians. When we are weary, that is a clear sign that we are not spending enough quality time with the Lord.
READ: Leviticus 6:1-7:27; Mark 3:7-30; Psalm 37:1-11; Proverbs 10:3-4