Payoff

Secret Weapon   March 11, 2025

Proverbs 22:4 MSG

Psalm 37:11, Matthew 5:5, numbers 12:3, Matthew 11:29 ESV

I once told my dad that there are a lot of things in the Bible that seem to be backward. I was thirteen and a few of them were in my Sunday school lessons.

Proverbs 22:4 is a good example, “The Payoff for meekness and fear of God is plenty and honor and a satisfying life.”

I wanted a straight answer but I knew he seldom gave me a straight answer. At the time I would get a bit frustrated because I didn’t know he knew if I figured things out on my own I would remember it.

He asked me for an example. Because he usually followed up a question with a question. I had a few examples from my Bible because they were on my list of scriptures to memorize.

Psalm 37:11, “But the meek shall inherit the land  and delight themselves in abundant peace.”

Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Numbers 12:3, “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.”  Personally I thought this one was strange because I’d seen Cecille B. Demille’s movie The Ten Commandments and Moses was anything but meek. In my mind he was bold and brave.

Then there was Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

So as I said, my dad seldom answered a question with a straight answer. He usually answered a question with a question and told me to pray about it and ask God. That kinda drove me crazy, but later in Seminary my professors pretty much did the same thing. The only difference was that they told me to go sit with the text and pray.

I finally figured out why.

Meekness/humility doesn’t mean we are a doormat (that’s what I thought when I was thirteen.) Meekness is much more than what the world thinks it is. Think of it this way…Jesus doesn’t force us to believe in Him. Moses surrendered to God. The meek in the land look to God for that land. They are grateful for the gift God gave.

When we admit we are not God and we look to God to be God we will be blessed with plenty and honor. We are letting God be God and the journey with God is a crazy good journey.

In Jesus, Deborah

acrazyjourney.com