A Quite Gentle Spirit

A few weeks ago I have been asked how I handle when I meet up with someone who disagrees with me. I told them in the last few months I've learned to handle things with gentle spirit. They asked if I could back my actions up with scripture. I love the phase, "can you back it with scripture" This is said often in our church and I love the challenge of searching scripture.

I went to my Bible and looked up Jesus characteristic of gentleness and learned something new. Matthew 21:5-7 5
"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
'See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' (this is the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9)
6The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.

Jesus came gently and peaceful in the storm he was about to face. His gentleness was because he completely trusted His Father. Yours can be too if you trust God.

I've also been reading Elizabeth George and she give the old testament word for gentleness, "ANAB" This describes a mature, ripened shock of grain with its head bent low and bow down.

So as you think about this a grain sprout it stands straight up stretching for the highest point (look at me attitude). It isn't till it is mature that in bows down and the lower it bows the greater the harvest.

We are so often like this. We want to been seen or heard when we are confronted with something. As we mature we will bow down and know when to be quite. For a quite gentle spirit will be of great worth.

1 Peter 3:3-4
3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.