Cultivating a Meek and Quiet Spirit

Have you ever struggled to remain calm and kind to others in trying circumstances? Perhaps your family dynamics create an atmosphere where always keeping your emotions in check and cultivating a meek and quiet spirit can be challenging. Given your current circumstances, it may even feel impossible.  

I admit that always having control over my emotions in this crazy field called life is something this girl is still laboring to perfect one hundred percent. It can be challenging to deal with difficult people in the workplace, in the passing lane, and even in the grocery store line.  When your temperature rises, do you still act like the woman who teaches Bible study or like a modern-day Ruth, as someone recently suggested to me? And if you want to lay it all on the table, Y’All, I love him, but my husband sometimes makes me mad. Anybody? 

Brother Paul sets us an example of calm under distress in Acts 21:26-40 through Acts 22. When he is falsely accused and standing amid an angry, violent crowd, he keeps his cool and asks permission before telling his side of the story. Once given permission, he waits until the crowd is completely silent and then addresses the crowd. 

There is so much to glean from this small passage of scripture.  Paul gives us an example of what we can do to handle our heated emotions waiting till it is the right time to speak even when it is necessary to tell our side of the story.  An example we can take with us even in our everyday encounters when spewing back an angry comeback is well on its way to the tip of our tongue. 

Seek God before you speak.

Paul first asked permission to address the infuriated, violent crowd. He could have easily started screaming and retaliating with his own angry words. After all, Paul was in the right and was being falsely accused. But even though Paul was in the right, he still waited on God’s timing before answering back. Most of us will never know what it is like to face an angry mob, but we can follow Paul’s example when our everyday lives are full of drama and intensity. When angry, take a time out or step back to pray before answering back. Sometimes things will take care of themselves, and speaking up hastily can worsen matters. When we seek God first, we gain control over our emotions.

Wait before speaking.

Wait till things have settled down. It is always best to speak calmly instead of rushing into a heated exchange. This often leads to saying things you later regret and only adds fuel to the fire. The main objective is to make a situation better, not worse. You may not be able to work every problem out, but if you handle yourself and your words wisely, you can confidently say that you have obeyed The Lord and “lived peaceably with all men as much as lies in you.”

Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. 

Sometimes God will have us remain quiet and surrender a situation to Him. But other times, God will give us the liberty to verbalize our feelings and share our opinions. God never intends for us women to be berated and emotionally beaten down. God’s plan for his daughters never includes being used as a doormat for others. Even in everyday confrontations, people sometimes need to sit down, have honest conversations, and quietly work things out. 

Paul again gives the perfect example of “none of these things move me.” Even when under duress, Paul remained calm and in control. Unshaken. Unrattled. Unmovable. 

We can often look at all the things the great men and women of the Bible accomplished and the victories they won and feel our accomplishments pale in comparison.  But if we have managed to keep the peace when the enemy so often longs to wage war in our homes and communities, then sisters, we have accomplished much. To stay cool-headed and kind spoken when all hell breaks lose around us will be one trophy and accolade that we will want to celebrate more than the rest.  We will then be well on our way to becoming a Proverbs 31 woman who “opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”

I think it is one of many things we accomplish in the name of Jesus that God celebrates with us and says, “Daughter, job well done.”  

So let us pray that The Lord help us make 1 Peter 3:4 our guide, which reads, “but let it be the inner beauty of the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, one that is calm and self-controlled, not overanxious, but serene and spiritually mature which is very precious in the sight of God.” (AMP)

Sister Friend, put on the dress and curl your hair if that is your style. Paint up your nails and slip into the heels. Be the most beautiful You that you can be. But don’t forget to dress up the inner woman of God.  Allow the Holy Spirit’s inward glow to be what is most becoming about You as He empowers you to have self-control and a kind spirit toward others, especially those of your households that can become so easy to neglect.

It won’t all happen at once for some of us.  It will be something we work to cultivate in our lives and build upon one day at a time. When we make this precious gift of God called the meek and quiet spirit something we desire, it becomes obtainable. As we grow in grace and knowledge, we will also mature spiritually to be more like Jesus in every way. Then we, as daughters of our most high King, can boldly proclaim the words of Proverbs 31:30-31 (ESV) for ourselves. 

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands,

and let her works praise her in the gates.”

See you in the field, 

Susan 

Is having a meek and quiet spirit something you are laboring to cultivate in your field? Visit my free resource page for scripture cards you can print out and use whenever the enemy tries to steal your meek and quiet spirit. (https://ruth216girl.com/free-resources) We are in this battle together to better our own lives, homes, and families and to glorify our Jesus.  And we are in this battle together, sister-friend.