We must take on Jesus’ disposition in order to abide in Him Successfully!
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28
I shared in the last two devotionals that abiding in Christ has different elements which are all important for us in staying close and intimate to Jesus. We can do all of things mentioned in the last two devotionals, growing in our relationship with Christ, abiding in our position in Christ, & faithfully walking with God for years, but not have the right disposition. Jesus’ disposition was gentleness and lowliness of heart. If we are going to abide closely with Jesus, we must become gentle and lowly in heart!
Gentleness and lowliness of heart are a sign of a surrendered life. When we are lowly, we put down our own expectations, and we take up what Jesus has for us. When the expectations of life or others are not a concern to us, we discover that we don’t strive like we used to. We don’t have to wrestle internally about things. We find rest for our souls because we are in step with Christ, and we are walking together as we are yoked with Him.
Jesus stated, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” Becoming gentle and lowly in heart is a learning process. It doesn’t all happen at Salvation, neither does it happen by gaining Bible knowledge. It happens by us paying attention to Jesus’ disposition towards the Father and others.
As we look at Jesus’ life, we notice that He never fought for His rights. He didn’t try to steal the attention from the Pharisees. He wasn’t insecure about people challenging Him. He stayed constant through it all because He knew who He was. He also knew that His success wasn’t tied to arguing, competing, striving, or fighting. It had to do with obeying God and doing only what He asked Him to do.
Jesus did not have His own agenda! He wasn’t impatient. He didn’t try to impress anyone. As a matter of fact, there were a few times that He asked the people not to tell anyone about the miracle they received. While He knew all about Judas and His plan, He wasn’t feeling intimidated or threatened. He saw everything as part of God’s plan and purpose. He trusted God completely regardless of the outcome. He had a resolve that He was going to do what God was asking Him to do even to the point of the cross.
Are we growing in humility and gentleness? Are we dealing with threatening or unfair situations better than we did a year ago? Some of us just get more skilled in controlling our emotions. It’s important to control our emotions, but it is more important for us to have a change of emotions internally. Those things that used to push our buttons, don’t affect us like they used to. If the answer to any of the above questions is “No”, then we’re not abiding as well as we think we are.
Sometimes we fear the judgment of people, or we may fear lose of a relationship or a position. There are times that one’s own insecurities cause Him to become proud in fear of being perceived as insignificant. What are the issues that cause you not to be gentle and lowly in heart? Is there something/someone between you and Jesus that you have not surrendered yet? Ask Him to show you and make a decision to be more fully surrendered to Him.