I don’t know about you guys, but the very word “meek” makes me cringe. I want to be strong, a boss babe, a bad ass, super woman, a zombie slayer (just me?) and “meek” does not fit well into my category of bad-assery. To me, meek seems weak. Meek seems like the shy wall-flower who’s a literal doormat. Meek seems like someone who doesn’t speak up or share their opinion. Meek seems like someone who just goes with the flow and pleases everyone else. Meek seems like the opposite of what I want to be when I grow up.

So, when I read verses (MANY verses) in Scripture that mention this being a quality to be admired or work towards (through sanctification, not our own effort), I immediately get defensive (to no one in particular which is ridiculous) and then I start to wonder why I’m so far off from wanting to be what the Bible would say is Christ-like.

As I took some time to dig into what this whole “meek” things means, I found that much like many other biblical qualities, the world’s definition of meekness is very different than God’s definition.

The world defines it as…..

meek·ness (noun): the fact or condition of being meek; submissiveness. “all his best friends make fun of him for his meekness”

God defines it as…..

meek·ness (noun): righteous, humble, teachable, patient under suffering, and attribute of a true disciple following the gospel. 

So as I started to study this further, I realized that meekness in the Bible didn’t mean a doormat at all. Meekness is Scripture meant submission to the Lord, which if you are fully surrendered, means you are very much not going with the flow of the world. A friend of mine once said she wants to be so sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice in her life that she can hear a whisper and like a bit in a horses mouth, be obedient to that whisper without much resistance at all. THAT is what meekness in the Bible means. And as a believer, who wouldn’t want to be like that?! I mean, God usually has to put me through the ringer to get my full attention these days, and shouldn’t I be more mature than that after all these years (you would definitely think so, but I also still feel like I’m 20 and wonder if I’m going to get in trouble for buying wine at the grocery store.) So at the end of the day, meek doesn’t mean weak. Meek means surrender, and dependence on Jesus.

So with that said, I found 5 qualities a “meek” person possesses:

1. Meek people trust God. If we are fully surrendered to Jesus, we believe who He says He is, we believe He is a good Dad, and we believe He always keeps His promises. So if we believe all of those things, we TRUST Him. We trust that His way is better. We trust that His timing is better. And when we trust Him, it’s much easier to seek Him first because we know all of these other distractions are just that, distracting us from our real source of life and hope.

2. Meek people commit their way to God. Because they trust Him and know Him, meek people are committed to going where He wants them to go and doing what He wants them to do. If you’ve even experienced the joy from one act of obedience to the Lord, then you know everything else is just dry bones in comparison. Speaking as someone who is definitely “prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave this God I love” I am astonished at my ability to stray from His plan when I know the feeling of true joy in obedience to what He’s called me to do (or not do too).

3. Meek people are quiet before the Lord and wait for Him. Being quiet before the Lord is like not going through my to-do list when I’m trying to fall asleep. I am NOT very good at it. I am a doer, I need to be productive. I like to-do lists and tasks to mark off. I DO NOT like to sit around and think about my feelings. I also am a control-freak which seems to be getting worse as I age. So waiting on the Lord, “Be still” and just listening is HARD. But, we know that all that toiling away, busyiness, and taking control or manipulating just makes us LESS at peace, so why do we even do it? (See #2 about being prone to wander like an idiot).

4. Meek people don’t fret over the wicked. Meek people aren’t insecure because their security is in Jesus. Meek people have no need for comparison or jealousy. Meek people are so grounded in who they are in Jesus that they have no need to prove themselves. So this means when Becky, the non-believer, is getting away with murder or maybe seems to have a better life, meek people aren’t worried about Becky at all (Sorry if your name is Becky).

5. Meekness is TEACHABLE (Thank you, Lord! I do have hope.) And lastly, praise Jesus for this one – this is a quality we can LEARN. We don’t have to stay the way we were, we can grow and learn to be more like Jesus, to be more humble, to be less focused on ourselves all of the time and to be confident in who Jesus called or made us to be. When we’re confident in that way, we’ll be a bad ass without even trying.

Spread the word, ladies. Meek is the new chic (insert cool guy emoji). 

“But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”

1 Peter 3:4