Ask the Lord Jesus for Meekness

My meditation inspired by A Discourse On Meekness and Quietness of Spirit by Matthew Henry (1662-1714)

As the day of the Lord's anger hastens on, or even arrives, and the world becomes full of tribulation like we have never known, while desolating judgments are breaking on mankind, then we must exercise all of the meekness we have and all we can get. Unbelievers in turmoil from God’s Righteous judgments will be increasingly angry, self-centered, deceptive, and cruel and will take this out on God’s children in Christ’s church.

In tribulation, we will have to ask for meekness and plead with the Lord to increase this grace. We will need more meekness towards God -- as the author of our troubles; and towards men -- as the instruments of our trouble. We will need meekness to bear the fierce trial while continuing our good testimony and persisting in loving Jesus with all our hearts and men as ourselves during the pressure and pain -- all the while being provoked by unbelievers. As the world begins to come apart and good, Christian men lose their jobs and livelihoods and become concerned with the well-being of their wives and children, we must pray for meekness to bear the pain and do the hard work of glorifying our Jesus while normalcy evades us.

There is coming a "time of temptation and tribulation," a crucial season when the exercise of meekness will be even more important and difficult to do than it is today. When God is justly angry and men are unjustly angry, there will be more than enough anger to deal with. Meekness is that water that douses the fire of anger. And in the Great Tribulation, truly will it be said, "blessed are the meek," that have sought meekness from our Father and have learned to keep possession of their souls when they can keep possession of nothing else.

What then, while the world is now calmer, we need to learn how to grow in this grace of meekness. It will be harder to cultivate later when the hurricane hits. Seeking meekness and growing in this cherished grace is harder than we think. We will serve the unbelieving world and each other better later if we somehow grow in meekness now. Pray for Meekness! Ask God for it, this fruit of His precious Spirit, because ONLY from Him can you get meekness. This beautiful grace is not native to your corrupt heart; it must be planted by the Father via His Spirit. Pray for Meekness!