Today we're going to take a posture of peace by considering exploring the greatness of gentleness.
Posture is a short audible fist bump to remind you God is with you in everything.
Together we're going to be emboldened to take a daily posture of perfect peace.
David wrote in Psalm 1835, you have given me the shield of your salvation and your right hand
upholds me and your gentleness has made me great. You don't often think about gentleness and
greatness together but God does. This is his reality. Here's the beautiful thing, God is
always gentle with us. We talked about that in yesterday's episode. He is also gentleness
within us because he lives in us and gentleness is powerful. It's strength under control.
Gentleness shifts things. It changes things. Proverbs 15 says, a gentle answer turns away
wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger. While more of the same produces more of the same,
gentleness sweeps in as the opposite spirit to the world and it turns away wrath. It shifts
atmospheres. It shifts hearts. It shifts the plans of the enemy. As we talked about again
yesterday, God's gentleness towards us, it demonstrates his confidence in the finished
work of Jesus and what that work means for you and me. God is not hesitant about who he is for you.
He is clear, confident, and committed to his word over you and his nature towards you always.
And I think that we struggle, or at least for me, I won't pick on you, but I think I struggle
to be gentle with others, sometimes even with myself, because I don't always have a confidence
that it will produce results. I don't want to be a doormat. I don't want my point not to get across.
I don't want people to get away with things. But all of those fears, and they are fears,
they lack confidence in the transformative power of God's nature. Gentleness is the spirit
in which we restore ourselves and others because it is the spirit in which God has restored us.
Gentleness is restorative, and though the results may not be instant, though the results may not
always be evident immediately, they're shifting happening with gentleness. And I'm considering
that today and every day, especially as I relate with other people, especially as I scroll through
my screen. Gentleness makes us great. The promise of perfect peace is found in Isaiah 26 3. In Hebrew,
it is shalom shalom, meaning complete wholeness, nothing missing, nothing broken. This is who you
are in Jesus because of Jesus. You are a living testimony of Jesus's ultimate win. With every step
you take today, you're putting Jesus's victory on display and Satan's defeat on replay.