“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5
Submission means to put your mission under (sub) the mission of someone else. Christ calls me to put my hopes, dreams, and plans under His mission. The meek place all things in God’s hands and find (to their surprise) God places all things in their hands.
Submit to God’s Word
The self-willed person hears what God says in the Bible but reserves the right to disagree. “God may say that, but I don’t believe it and I don’t want it.” Or worse, “This is what I want so it must be what God wants.” This is the surest sign of a person putting himself in the place of God.
Submit to God’s will
There will be times when God puts you in a place you would not choose to be—difficulties with work, family, church, or health. When God does this, unbelief rises up from the flesh: “This must mean God does not love me.” Resentment grows and envy settles in: “Why does she have that blessing and not me?”
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matt. 26:39). Jesus shows the perfect picture of meekness when He submits Himself to the will of the Father at unimaginable cost.
Submit to God’s people
When God’s people are filled with the Holy Spirit, they sing to each other, give thanks, and submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Eph. 5:19-21).
If you are not a member of a local church, to whom do you submit? Self-directed Christians miss out on the blessing of meekness. Meekness grows through the discipline of committed relationships, which are God’s gift to us in the body of Christ. You cannot learn meekness if you walk away from church every time a person upsets you.
Meekness has a cost, but what will you gain?
