Jan 29, 2026 – Meekness
My sister-in-law had a heart ablation yesterday. She went to the hospital Monday for an outpatient procedure to have her cancer port removed, but ended up being admitted due to complications with afibrillation, which had been diagnosed months prior, but apparently was not yet under control. It’s always interesting how God allows something to happen in our lives in order to reveal something else. As the nurses were prepping her Monday for the procedure, we kept wondering aloud why now was the time to remove it, not sooner or later, since no explanation was given by her doctors for the timing.
During the days of tests and decisions about what to do next, we learned that she had been having dizzy spells for a while, but hadn’t said anything. They were perhaps a clue that something needed to be checked and tweaked in her medicines or that something more major, like the ablation, needed to be done. The little girl with the brain tumor had been having headaches. The daughter of another friend had pains that compelled her to the ER and revealed an ectopic pregnancy. I believe God created the body to give us clues when something needs attention; and, when we react in a timely manner, we can usually more easily address problems (or at least the clues sensitize us to being prepared for taking next steps when the situations turn serious). Many people brush off signs and symptoms and end up with major issues to handle.
What I am freshly reminded of through these experiences this week, is how extremely comforting it is that the Holy Spirit so diligently tries to get our attention about things in our bodies and in our lives that need to be considered. When we fully settle in to understanding and accepting that God really is in control and that He really does care about every hair on our heads, it’s not as difficult to heed verses like Matthew 6:34 , “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow….”
Streams – Psalm 46:5 – “God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.” Cowman draws from the writings of Hannah Whitall Smith sharing, “’Will not be moved’ – what an inspiring declaration! Is it possible for us who are so easily moved by earthly things to come to a point where nothing can upset us or disturb our peace? The answer is yes, and the apostle Paul knew it…. Everything in Paul’s life and experience that could be disturbed had already been shaken, and he no longer considered his life or any of his possessions as having any earthly value. And if we will only let God have His way with us, we can come to the same point. Then, like Paul, neither the stress and strain of little things nor the great and heavy trials of life will have enough power to move us from ‘the peace of God, which transcends all understanding’ (Phil. 4:7). God declares this peace to be the inheritance of those who have learned to rest only on Him.”
Utmost – Chambers tries to wake us up to our intentions, “Has the voice of God come to you directly? If it has, you cannot mistake the intimate insistence with which it has spoken to you in the language you know best, not through your ears, but through your circumstances. God has to destroy our determined confidence in our own convictions. ‘I know this is what I should do’ – and suddenly the voice of God speaks in a way that overwhelms us by revealing the depths of our ignorance. We have shown our ignorance of Him in the very way we determined to serve Him.” How do we know that what we are doing, with good intentions, is serving ourselves and not God? Chambers continues, “If I feel I have done my duty and yet have hurt Him in doing it, I may be sure it was not my duty, because it has not fostered the meek and quiet spirit, but the spirit of self-satisfaction.”
I sat here puzzling about this until Don came in with his morning coffee and sat down telling me about his dreams that centered around the old Scrubs series which we have started binge watching (since he had never seen it) in order to get ready for the next generation of the show starting in Feb. I asked him how can I know if I’m hurting God with what I’m doing? These kinds of writings tend to make me question my choices and my path. I am apparently not to a point, like Smith describes above, where “nothing can upset [me] or disturb [my] peace.” And so, I talk with God…and my husband and I see what my devotion book friends have to say.
Don’s thoughts were that we should feel led and convicted about what we do in service to God, but we should also consider that Chambers was of a different era of thought about some things, like my mother who indeed was more of the “meek and quiet” generation. Google reminds us though, “In the Bible, meekness means strength under control, not weakness or passivity….” My father, of the same generation, was brave and bold and was definitely strength under control.
Not that our generation isn’t strong or under control, but we perhaps have access to so many more resources which convey so many theories about how to act and think and believe that we tend to question how to act, think, and believe. What we’ve learned about people in previous generations is that they more often than not made decisions and moved forward without considering everyone else’s view points and feelings. Maybe Chambers is saying that what we do doesn’t always have to make us feel good and satisfied as long as what we do serves God’s purposes and gives us peace. We need to be willing to make decisions and take a step forward in faith. Even if, in our boldness, we make mistake or a misstep, we can trust that God will correct our course and close doors while opening others. Joyce Meyer’s book Do It Afraid comes to mind. I think the point is that if we aren’t in a close relationship with our Creator, we will allow other inputs to cloud our thinking causing us to question our roles and our worth and perhaps to even step away from things that God actually does want us to do.
Power – And here is why I continue to look to my small group of devotion book friends most every morning to hear their thoughts that help direct me back to leaning in to God. Joyce entitles today’s devotion, “Discernment Comes from Within.” Proverbs 2:2 – “Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.” Joyce points out, “Not everything God asks us to do is going to make sense to our minds. Learn how to go with what you sense inside your heart. If you have peace about something, don’t let your friends talk you out of it just because they don’t understand…. be bold enough to follow your heart. Stop trying to figure things out; just do what God tells you and you will avoid a lot of confusion.” I find myself wondering, again, how we know what He’s telling us. Joyce answers that, “The apostle Paul was a very educated man, and even he came to the point where he said he was determined to know nothing but Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:2).” The depth of our relationship with Christ dictates our path and our peace.
JC – “Keep your focus on Me. I have gifted you with amazing freedom, including the ability to choose the focal point of your mind…. Let the goal of this day be to bring every thought captive to Me…. In My radiant Light, anxious thoughts shrink and shrivel away…. Confused ideas are untangled while you rest in the simplicity of My Peace.” That is indeed so, as I hope you have witnessed, when I wonder “aloud” in my writings!
Prevail #29 – Larson tells us about Moses dealing with criticism, but how he handled it seems to follow along with and answer my ponderings so far, “He fell facedown to the ground. When he sought God for direction, he bowed low. When he interceded for ungrateful, sinful people, he bowed low. And when those very people rose up against him, he went facedown again before the Lord…. When you walk in humble [meekness comes to mind here] reverence before the Lord and you follow Him wholeheartedly, you can always count on him to defend and deliver you.”
This is something I really needed to hear because I am a big justice person. I don’t like being misjudged or watching anyone else be misjudged or hurt. Despite having faith that God is in control, I pretty much immediately work on comebacks and ways to put people in their place, so they know I’m not a wimp to be walked all over. Meekness comes to mind again. Don is always good at helping me lean toward the more calm response. Larson advises, “If you find yourself rehearsing your defense in your mind, lay it down. Pick up one of His promises and rehearse that instead. Remember His goodness. Rely on His love. Recall His history with His people. It’s precious and powerful…. He cares about justice [I hadn’t read ahead when I used that word at the beginning of this paragraph!!] and will make every crooked way straight again. He’s meticulous and miraculous.” Which means we don’t have to be!!
Max asks us to, “Flip back the flaps of your soul, and you’ll see a series of beliefs that serve like poles to stabilize the tent of your life and faith. Your belief system is your answer to the fundamental questions about life. Is anyone in control of the universe? Does life have a purpose? Do I have value? Is this life all there is?… If your belief system is strong, you’ll stand. If it is weak, the storm will prevail. Belief always precedes behavior…. To change the way a person responds to life, change what a person believes about life.”
JA – “YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME when you seek Me with all your heart. I do not expect perfection in this pursuit…. It is the effort itself that pleases Me…. Even if you don’t feel close to Me, you find yourself communicating with Me…. As a result, you feel more alive – more awake and real – when you are actively pursuing Me. Your willingness… delights My heart. This joyful journey is all about perseverance. As long as you continue seeking Me, you are on the right path.” See Jeremiah 29:13-14, Hebrews 12:1, Romans 5:3, and 2 Peter 1:5-6. Very comforting words for someone who tends to question and overthink.
