Pronounced "an-VAH" the Hebrew verb, "Anavah" denotes
"gentleness" "humility" "meekness".
You have given me Your shield of salvation; Your right hand upholds me,
and Your gentleness exalts me."
(Psalm 18:35)
The warrior-King of Psalm 18 draws near with tenderness, shielding, and raising
the weak. Such paradox-majesty expressed through meekness- establishes the
biblical pattern: true greatness is revealed in lowliness. The LORD's readiness
to bend toward His covenant partner foreshadows the incarnation,
where ultimate regal power is clothed in servant garb.-Bible Hub
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find
rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
(Matthew 12:28-30)
Nathan Greene
American painter
Image courtesy/Nathan Greene Art
"There is no harder lesson to learn than the lesson of humility.
It is not taught in the schools of men, only in the school of Christ. It is the rarest
of all the gifts. Very rarely do we find a man or a woman who is following closely
the steps of the Master in meekness and in humility. I believe that it is the hardest
lesson which Jesus Christ had to teach His disciples while He was here upon earth.
It almost looked at first as though He had failed to teach the twelve men who
had been with Him almost constantly for three years.
I believe that if we are humble enough we shall be sure to get a great blessing.
After all, I think that more depends upon us than upon the Lord, because He
is always ready to give a blessing and give it freely, but we are not always in
a position to receive it. He always blesses the humble, and if we can get down
in the dust before Him, no one will go away disappointed. It was Mary, at the
feet of Jesus, who had chosen the "better part".
Did you ever notice the reason Christ gave for learning of Him?
He might have said: "Learn of me, because I am the most advanced
thinker of the age. I have performed miracles that no man else has
performed. I have shown my supernatural power in a thousand ways."
But no: the reason He gave was that He was "meek, and lowly in heart."
A man can counterfeit love, he can counterfeit faith, he can counterfeit hope
and all the other graces, but it is very difficult to counterfeit humility.
You soon detect mock humility.
They have a saying in the East among the Arabs, that as the tares and
the wheat grow they show which God has blessed. The ears that God
has blessed bow their heads and acknowledge every grain, and the
more fruitful they are the lower their heads are bowed. The tares
which God has sent as a curse, lift up their heads erect, high
above the wheat, but they are only fruitful of evil.
I have a pear tree on my farm which is very beautiful;
it appears to be one of the most beautiful trees on my place.
Every branch seems to be reaching up to the light and stands
almost like a wax candle, but I never get any fruit from it.
I have another tree, which was so full of fruit last year
that the branches almost touched the ground.
If we only get down low enough, my friends,
God will use every one of us to His glory."
Excerpts from "The Overcoming Life"
Dwight L. Moody
(1837-1899)
American evangelist
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