Seek to be Meek

Jesus says in Matthew 5:5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."
This is a powerful, upside-down announcement by Jesus. The people of Israel hearing this for the first time would not have normally thought the meek would inherit the earth. Their world was being concurred by the Romans, who were not very meek. The world today still seems to belong, not to the meek, but to the strong, the assertive, those willing to cut corners. But Jesus says the meek will inherit the earth.
I think his message is a reminder that his ways, the ways of God's kingdom, are what will last. And we see this message in Psalm 37 where this Beatitude seems to be taken in verse 11. The big picture of Psalm 37 is that the ways of the world, which include schemes, swords, and selfishness, will wither away like grass. However, the characteristics of the meek will last for eternity. The meek characteristics found in Psalm 37 are trust in the Lord, generosity, doing good, taking refuge in God, among others. And as we grab onto these characteristics they pull us closer to God.
I want to recommend two ways to grab onto these characteristics. The first one is to be sure you have a group of Christians you connect with. This group is not just for fellowship, but for studying God's Word together, sharing your struggles with, and supporting others in the group. Fellowship is nice, but if that is all the deeper our Christian relationships go then we are missing an important piece of Christian community.
When we openly share with other Christians our struggles, our learning, and our joys we will notice that God does work in meek ways. When we see someone who is meek being blessed by God and having God provide for them, it will become easier to trust God will do the same in your life.
My second recommendation is to get into reading God's Word for yourself. We all need to have some personal reading time to hear God's voice. Hearing someone else talk about God's Word is not bad, but we all need to hear straight from God.
And to help you with reading this week I want to invite you to read with me through Psalm 37 for the next 5 days. Each day I will invite you to look for something different. (And you can post what you find in a comment back to me.)
Day 1 (Today): Read the psalm to get the general idea.
Day 2: Read the psalm and count the number of times the "wicked" are mentioned. I highlighted each time this word appeared in my Bible, which is NIV. How many times did you find it? What does that tell you?
Day 3: Read the psalm and notice the characteristics of those who are considered "wicked." What stood out to you in these characteristics?
Day 4: Now read the psalm and notice the characteristics of the meek, those who are not wicked. Which characteristics surprised you? Which ones encouraged you?
Day 5: Read the psalm and notice how many times "inherit" is used. Who will receive an inheritance from God?
Join me as we seek to be meek.