Gentleness

I've been pinched and prodded and yelled at and....ya, so now I'm posting...finally! :) I understand I have failed all my friends and am a discredit to the blogging world. Well, now that I've got that off my chest...gentleness. Here's a quote defining gentleness from "A Young Woman's Walk with God":
"Gentleness~
. means to be gentle or meek, to be lowly or humble,
. is a form of self-control that Christ alone can give,
. expresses itself in a submissive spirit toward both God and man, and
. is the opposite of self reliant arrogance."

I hope you all have realized by now that it is impossible to live out the fruits of the Spirit without the Spirit! Gentleness is gleaned from God alone! Only in a right relationship with God can gentleness be cultivated in our lives. Like all the other fruits of the spirit, gentleness gives a clear picture of God's presence in our lives. "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."
So often when we think of gentleness we are reminded of wht gentleness looks like in action. However, for this post, I want to focus on a heart of gentleness.
We must ask ourselves, why is gentleness so important to God? In 1 Peter 3:4 we are told that a gentle and quiet spirit is precious in the sight of God. By definitiont, gentleness is a heart that is at rest. A heart not tossed about by worries or doubts. Gentleness means trusting in God. A spirit of gentleness is a spirit at peace. Gentleness means submitting to the Maker.
Gentleness also means "to be tamed". "The word tame, which is the opposite of wild, describes one accustomed to control by another. The word also suggests one whose will has been broken or who has allowed himself or herself to be dominated by the will of another. Speaking as a teenage girl I can generally say that my gender is typically "emotionally unstable". (No insult intended) :P However...it's true! We live on this emotional roller-coaster of worry, depression, anxiety and whatnot! Yes, we have wild hearts! We need our Lord to tame our spirits and bring our hearts under His domination. We have our will and worries, but we need to submmit those to God's authority and power. Whenever you feel like there is a tempest going on inside of you, remember that peace is yours to obtain if you submit to God. I know I've only gone into one small corner of the huge picture of gentleness. I would encourage you guys to go study it more because the jewels to be found are amazing!

~~~Bug~~~