Let Your Gentleness be Known

Let your gentleness be known to all men (Phil. 4:5)! 

Are you serious LORD? No wonder Paul says saturate yourselves in prayer! 

Gentleness is the fruit of maturity. It comes from quiet strength. It is the ability to control my words, my anxieties, and my stress in order to not be sudden, rash, or brash. 

Gentleness is sensitivity that wields power because it submits to God to allow Him to have full control of the situation. 

Gentleness wields strength because it bears with another. 

Gentleness displays inward grace and humility. 

Gentleness is founded in love and poured out of love. It is light, tender, kind, and soft. 

Gentleness is sensitive. You know the healthy kind. I have a confession. 

I feel a war raging inside me and at times I wonder, Who am I? Does gentleness count when my insides do not feel any of these truths? 

Sometimes, words... no flat out logorhea pours out before I think. I hate it when I speak before I think. I really do want a gentle quiet spirit. I pray for it. Yet, I am not always obedient. 

I am so glad that gentleness does not mean that we do not speak up. It means that I speak up with respect for the other. If I hold the other person as God's image bearer I am more likely to honor them and let my gentleness be known. 

Gentleness means I take care to not cause harm. It means that I submit this crazy human to the will of God so that He can mature me so that I might bear this blessed fruit. 

Praying for gentleness to be made known in me that I might make it known to all. 

Maybe today you should say a prayer for me! :) 

Father, please let your gentleness be made known in me and through me for Your glory alone.

First posted August 11, 2020