8 Resolutions Jesus Would Be Happy WithSample

3. Resolve to Choose Gentleness Over Control

Let’s just be real for a second.

In our world, the meek don’t inherit anything.

The winners are the ones who hustle. The loudest in the room. The ones who get the likes, land the job, and lock in the influence. In Jesus’ day, it wasn’t much different. The Roman Empire ruled through force. The wealthy elite held the land. Power meant possession. Meekness? That was for the overlooked.

And then Jesus shows up on a hillside and says,

“Blessed are the meek…they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5, NIV)

It's absurd. Upside-down. And exactly what the kingdom of God always is.

The first two beatitudes, “poor in spirit” and “those who mourn,” are about our posture before God. This one? It’s how that posture begins to shape how we move through the world.

The word Jesus uses, praus, doesn’t mean weak. It means controlled strength. In classical Greek, it described a warhorse that had been trained. All that power, all that energy, but under command. Directed. Yielded.

In Jesus’ world, this statement was revolutionary.

The Romans believed peace came through the sword, Pax Romana.

Jesus announces peace through surrender, Pax Christi.

That’s meekness.

To be meek is to have the power to assert, dominate, or win, but to choose gentleness instead. It’s leadership that doesn’t have to shout. Influence that doesn’t manipulate. Strength that doesn’t need to flex.

As Dallas Willard said, “The meek are those who have strength and do not use it to secure their own way.” (1)

Think about that.

How often do we default to control?

To prove a point?

To push for what we think we deserve?

But the meek aren’t out to grab. They live open-handed. Not passive. Not timid. Just…grounded. Anchored in a deeper trust. And Jesus says, they will inherit the earth.

Not the powerful.

Not the platformed.

Not the ones who play the game better than anyone else.

The meek.

The ones whose power is yielded. Whose lives are quiet enough to actually hear God. The ones who don’t chase influence, because they trust that what matters most can’t be taken, it can only be received.

Jesus echoes Psalm 37:11 (ESV) here, “But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.”

Inheritance is key. You don’t earn an inheritance. You don’t muscle your way into it. You receive it. And the “earth”? That’s not just dirt. It’s God’s good world. It’s peace. It’s flourishing. It’s your place in the story of redemption. Jesus is saying: the ones who stop grasping will be the ones who get what matters most.

But here’s the paradox: when you stop striving for control, you receive what control could never give. To live meekly in this cultural moment, where everyone’s building a personal brand, curating their image, fighting for their voice to be heard, is an act of resistance.

It’s the way of Jesus…

Quiet strength.

Hidden faithfulness.

Surrendered influence.

As A.W. Tozer put it, “The meek man is not a human mouse… but has stopped being fooled about himself.” (2) He knows where his strength comes from. And he knows he doesn’t have to force what God has already promised.

So today, take a deep breath.

You don’t have to prove yourself.

You don’t have to be first.

You don’t have to control every outcome.

Just choose one place, one moment, where you could push for your way… and instead, choose gentleness. That’s meekness. That’s power, under control.

And according to Jesus, that’s the kind of life that will still be standing long after the empire of ego has crumbled.

Prayer

Jesus, You had all power, and yet You chose humility. Teach me that same way. In a world obsessed with strength, help me live surrendered. I give You my desire to control, to be noticed, to win. Make me meek, not weak, but grounded in Your strength. Help me trust that what You give is better than anything I could take. Amen.

Reflection

Where are you tempted to push, prove, or control the outcome? How could you practice “power under control” with gentleness in that specific situation?

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(1) Dallas Willard, The Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2024

(2) A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, rev. ed. (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1996)