II Timothy 2:24-26 "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves: if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."
I really want to help people, don't you? I would love to be an instrument of God to "instruct" those who have been taken captive by Satan, so that they can take advantage of the great mercy of God by repenting of their sin and turning to Christ.
So how can I become that kind of person?
According to the above Scripture, I must be gentle, patient and meek.
Galatians 5:22-24 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."
Gentless is not a personality trait. It is not merely being a quiet, timid person. It is a fruit of the Spirit - a work of God - accomplished in our lives.
Think of a mighty horse, once wild and untamed, that has been "gentled" through hours of training and "breaking"...all of those incredibly powerful muscles now tamed to move at the rider's slightest touch.
I think of gentleness as "restrained power."
A gentle person has a reason for being gentle...it is not mere softness; but rather a purpose for being meek, a constraint of the will to be patient and kind.
This type of spirit is not easily gained. It takes a literal "breaking" of our will, as a trainer will break the mightiest stallion to do his bidding.
"So few are willing to undergo the suffering out of which thorough gentleness comes. We must die before we are turned into gentleness, and crucifixion involves suffering; it is a real breaking and crushing of self, which wrings the heart and conquers the mind." ~G.D.W. (Streams in the Desert)
As we walk through our valley of suffering today, let us remember that our Trainer, our Rescuer, our Saviour is doing a work of "gentling" us. He is breaking our will that we might be willing to do His.
When this fruit of gentleness has been accomplished in our hearts, we are then ready to be used by our Master to reach those who need to be rescued from the snares of the devil.
To be His servant, we must be gentle.
"When God conquers us and takes all the flint out of our nature, and we get deep visioins into the Spirit of Jesus, we then see as never before the great rarity of gentleness of spirit in this dark and unheavenly world." ~G.D.W. (Streams in the Desert)
Will you allow yourself to be gentled by the Master today?
