Are you good at looking out for the needs and causes of others? Do you prefer that people pray for another person and not you?    Do you notice how often you wait to speak up; wait to be recognized?      Have you conquered the mountain we call meekness? Are you the best at being humble?   Are you like me in not truly understanding what it means to be meek; to be humble?   We all need to toss our notions out and take the truth to heart.

When considering the idea of meekness, of humility, a good place to begin is with the man the bible calls the meekest man of all; Moses.  In the book of Numbers, chapter 12 verse 3 we read the following:  “Now the man Moses was meek more than all the people who were on the face of the earth.”   This is an amazing statement relating this superlative to this man. Consider then the man, Moses.  From scripture we learn he was an Israelite, of the clan of Levi.  Having been condemned by Egyptian policy even before his birth, he was rescued from death by a princess of Egypt and raised as royalty in the palace of the Egyptian pharaoh.  Moses knew his origins and yet lived apart from them as a young man.  He was raised to be powerful, to be catered to, to be honored and obeyed.  All his needs were met; he was educated, privileged, loved and wanted.  Even having all this, his conscience stirred him upon seeing injustice, and he did what some powerful people do; he became what judge, jury and executioner.   Nevertheless even his exalted status in Egypt could not rescue him from the will of pharaoh or of the law, so he fled.  Moses the son of a princess became a fugitive living out in a desert with nomadic shepherds.  He married, not a princess, but the daughter of a shepherd/priest.  From being a privileged person of royalty, he landed a job as a shepherd; a job that led nowhere, with nobodies surrounding him and certainly none of the comforts and wealth he previously knew. 

Enter the plan of God-to meet this man face to face and to assign him a new job; shepherding the people of Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land.  It is at this point that meekness or humility begins to be birthed.  For we find Moses afraid to look at God.  Moses is not brazen or demanding, even though his curiosity led him to check out the sight of a burning bush.  When God tells Moses that he is to lead the people out of Egypt, Moses asks “Who am I that I should do this…”  It is in the response of God that we all can find the truth about the power of humility.  God answers Moses’ question with His promise; “I will be with you.”   God is not asking Moses to plan, fund, design or execute this exodus.  He is not giving Moses a task to prove his worth, or to earn a place in the Scripture Hall of Fame.  God calls Moses to follow as God leads His people out of captivity.  Moses is the servant of the Lord, the representative of God to the people.  He is the one who will speak to God for them and speak to the people for God.  And it is in that place where Moses will show that humility knows the power of God, it knows the leading of God and it knows the wisdom of God.

  Ephesians 1:19-20  “ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,”

Moses learned, as we all must, that humility is not disparaging ourselves, but rather obeying God.  It is not harping on how sinful we are, rather it is be stunned at the grace God showers on us.  To put God first is to allow all for Him, all through Him, all because of Him.  Moses learned this through time spent with God; time spent talking, pleading and sometimes arguing.  But Moses came to know God, to know His voice, His will, His heart, realizing that God was there with Him.  Moses knew God, and he knew God had given him a people to lead, to shepherd, to the Promised Land.  Moses did not have to defend his position, fund his position, figure out his position.  God did all that.  Moses simply needed to obey, to follow God.  In that obedience, humility was able to exist.

What of us?  How do we define humility?  Is it putting ourselves last, feeling guilty for being needy, for asking for help from God?  We are all in need of checking our definition of humility against the biblical definition. God does not have to divide His time between me and others, nor does He have to ration out answers to prayers to those who are worse off than me.  His attention is not needed elsewhere in the world; therefore He will not be busy when I pray. We often assign human constraints to God, but He is not less favorable to me because I am less needy.  He is not in need of a rest from me.  He is never tired of me, never willing to give up on me.  I can never fall beyond the reach of His grace and love.

 This way of thinking is actually idolatrous since it makes God out to be different that He has shown us. It is self centered, not God centered, self defined, not God defined.  This is the lesson Moses learned and the one we all must learn as well. 
In the power of God with us, we can do mighty acts, courageous acts, and remain as meek individuals, knowing it is always the power of God, the plan of God and the love of God that work through us.  To be meek is not to be self centered; it is to be God centered.  To be meek is not to be a door mat, it is to be a God directed, strong, vocal servant speaking and doing that to which God had called us.

We are all told to seek humility; Zephaniah 2:3 “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands.  See righteousness, seek humility.”  As we seek God, we will learn humility for what it is; a long, obedient walk with God leading the way.