Through Highs and Lows God Bestows

Through highs and lows,

God bestows,

Sufficiency of strength in our weakness,

Which He manifests by meekness.

***

I have mused recently about the broad expanse of emotion that comes with this life. There are lows so painful it seems we can’t endure them. Yet, there are also highs so blissful we struggle to grasp the fullness of joy. Such is God’s love he wishes not to deprive us of any experience of life. Life is wide open and exposed to us, as we are before it.

But in both of these places, and all between, God bestows strength... strength for praise, strength in our weakness, and, by this strength, the capacity for meekness.

Strength in Weakness Through Manifold Meekness

Wherever we will have the moral fortitude to give way to God’s will, even in the affliction of a burgeoning and burdensome desire, we are blessed with strength for our weakness, and this is bestowed to us through manifold meekness.

What does this mean?

Firstly, upon difficulty we must surrender the moment to God, willingly. We must be ready and willing to happily do the right thing, even despite our own agenda.

Secondly, this will be terrifically hard when we are afflicted; and harder still when we have the creativity of desire rolling full-steam ahead. We are easily tricked by our desires when our imaginations develop solutions for our problems. Not every solution is a wise one. Indeed, many solutions that come to us or we develop do not factor in the myriad potential consequences that may play out when we innovate in such ways. And sometimes we go ahead even despite thought of negative consequences!

Thirdly, when we go to God in our weakness we redeem strength. But this is not a strength of worldly proportions, rather it is a divine strength that is powered by peace. Even in situations of affliction this peaceful strength gives us the sense that God’s grace is sufficient. And that’s all we need to know.

Fourthly, this peace that transcends our understanding—and in that way it is miraculous—manifests visibly and behaviourally through the properties of meekness. Simply put, there is meekness in our demeanour, which is a patient and capably reasonable disposition both personally and interpersonally.

One Study in Meekness

Many people have the wrong understanding of meekness. Meekness is not being a doormat. Rather it is the experience of a combination of wisdom and peace, to know that God is in control and that we are mere actors in life.

But it’s not that meekness is resigned to hopelessness; no, it would be much more accurate to say that meek people understand their position and role in life, and in submitting only to God they are afforded peace and quiet discernment as they live their lives out in balanced and quietly confident ways. Meekness in this way fits with the character trait and virtue of humility.

Meekness is a product of having submitted our weakness to God in the moment, and in that moment we derive strength—it is a meek strength, which is first capable, measured, and discerning.

Through a humble meekness, which is a quietly confident peace-of-God transcending our understanding, we have strength in our weakness and much better control over our emotions.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.