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Bible Question: Recently someone on facebook had a Bible verse, I think, on my wall that said " The Lord dwells in two places, Heaven and in the heart of the meak and humble". I felt like the words were speaking to me because earlier my boss had screamed at me in front of other staff and consumers. Her words were mean and tore me down like I did not know what I was doing. My heart was/is anything but meak and humble. I became very angry and embarassed. I wished I could afford to just quit my job so she could not do that to me anymore. Would God expect for me to have a meak and humble heart after what happened? How should my heart feel? I want God to dwell in my heart and I have prayed for him to and to put the feelings in my heart that should be there. I do not know much about the meanings of the bible so I would like some advice/education from people who does understand what the Bible means. Thank you.
Patricia

Bible Answer: Patricia,

1.) How do I keep a meek and humble heart?

I can not help but marvel at 1 Corinthians when Paul is trying to correct the factions in the first four chapters. They were struggling with several teachers being exalted and all the "lesser" brethren falling into place behind one of the various teachers, resulting in factions. So in the first chapter Paul takes them directly to the cross. He shows them that in light of the cross the notion of exalting any man whatsoever is foolishness and completely contrary to the doctrine of the gospel. When we are tempted to exalt ourselves, or to think ourselves above reproach, we are thikning along lines that are contrary to the gospel. So how do you keep meek and humble? Soak your mind in the gospel. Let it constantly remind you of who you are. We react to redicule instinctively as if to say, "Nobody speaks to ME like that!" But we constantly need to let the gospel ask us the question, "who are you?" And the answer in the gospel is that you are a sinner that had God not made you his own personal charity case, you would be doomed to an eternal hell that you rightly deserved. Let the grace of the gospel saturate your mind so that you do not see yourself as somebody whom it would be surprising that you would be rebuked. Read 1 Corinthians chapter 1 to see what I am referring to.

2.) What would God want me to do in this situation?

1 Peter 2:18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.

Some might say that doesn't refer to employees. But this directly follows what he says in verse 13, "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution" It is also followed by chapter 3 verse 1 where it is applied to wives. So God calls us to submit to even sorry bosses. And when we continue reading in 1 Peter chapter 2 and on into chapter 3 (Which I am encouraging you to do!) then we see that the reason for this is that it finds favor with God and also it is a powerful witness. Our being willing to suffer, and doing so in a gracious and kind way that our persecutors do not deserve is the most fertile of all grounds for spreading the gospel. So I encourage you along with Peter that, "Since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in teh fles has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God." (1 Peter 4:1,2)

3.) We discover in Proverbs that one of the surest signs and means of wisdom is to learn from rebukes. This is difficult to do when somebody actually means the rebuke to harm us rather than sincerly wishing to better us. But we must strive to hear a rebuke that is meant to harm us, and to then turn it to our good by putting aside all the hate in it and then looking honestly to see if behind all the ill intentions there is something we truely needed to hear. Spend years learning in such a way and you will be surprised at how you can grow at your job.

4.) You stated, "I want God to dwell in my heart"

Ephesians 3:14-17, "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.."

So we see that Christ dwells in our hearts through faith. Now to what faith do we refer? For this isn't just some vague trust in God to which Paul refers. Our faith is in Christ through the gospel. The gospel teaches us that you and I and our own attempts at righteousness are worthless in the sight of God due to our inherrent sinfulness. Therefore God has placed our sins upon Christ Jesus and condemned them in Him on the cross, giving us his righteousness in its place so that we may stand acceptable before God. To accept, to believe, to trust wholely in THAT is to have faith. And to do so requires us to be meek and humble in our own admission of our shortcomings before God. That is the meek and humble heart that God will dwell in, the one that is meek and humble in that it believes this gospel of their failure and Christ's sufficiency to be true and responds to it in Faith (trusting in it.) If you have that then as Ephesians states Christ dwells in your heart. We need not worry that in a moment of pride and anger towards another that He abandons us, for that is not the meekness meant, but the meekness of one who trusts Christ alone for righteousness before God and counting not on their own good.

May God bless you and keep you.

In Christ, Beja

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