Okay, here comes that word Meek again. The ninth characteristic of the Fruit of the Spirit is Meekness in the King James Version. All the other more recent versions say either "gentleness" or "humility". The reason why is very apparent when you search the word in different dictionaries. Webster's (one of the oldest) still lists as it's primary definition of the word: "enduring injury with patience and without resentment". Newer dictionaries like Dictionary.Com say this: "humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others; overly submissive or compliant; spiritless; tame". The meaning of the word, as I found in my study of the Beatitudes, has changed over the years. But to get a sense of the use of the word when the Greek manuscripts were being written you can go to Greek word study books like HELPS which says: "This difficult-to-translate root (pra-) means more than "meek." Biblical meekness is not weakness but rather refers to exercising God's strength under His control – i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness". This I can see as a definite attribute of God Himself because God does demonstrate His power without ever using undue or undeserved harshness.
God is not submissive, He is not yielding, obedient or compliant (all words that are listed as modern synonyms of meek). He does get angry, He does mete out justice. But He never oversteps what is Right or Good. Remember when I asked you to imagine a world that had been created by an evil creator? Think about it again. What kind of punishments would be handed out by a creator who was not inherently Good as our Father is? What kind of treatment would we endure under an all powerful being who was ruled by sinful passions? Now contrast that with what we receive from God. For our unrighteousness we received a sinless sacrifice in the person of God's own Son. If God were to mete out the powerful retribution He is capable of with "undue harshness", there would be Sodom and Gomorrah episodes happening everyday! Instead we have the "Lamb of God" and patient endurance.
Think about Jesus patiently enduring all that He was made to endure while here on this earth for us. He was loving and kind to the very people whose sins He would bear on the cross. He did get angry though. Do you remember? When He upset the money changers tables in the Temple? (John 2) And yet He remained sinless! It is possible to "Be angry, and do not sin" as we are urged by Paul in Ephesians 4:26. Jesus had the unlimited power of God at His disposal, but He never used it in any unjust or sinful way. We use the phrase: "With great power comes great responsibility". Jesus' time here on earth among His Father's creations is the ultimate example of this phrase. Neither God, nor Jesus, nor the Holy Spirit would ever use the power available to them in a sinful or self serving way. This is what I feel is a working definition of the word "Meek" as used in the Scriptures.
While I was writing this, I had a picture pop into my mind of a massive male lion laying majestically, imperturbably in the shade while a lion cub plays between his paws. With one snap of his powerful jaws, the cub would be dead! A "gentle" swat with one huge paw would send it flying. Even a careless step could injure the small cub. Yet none of this happens as the baby animal plays happily near the mighty beast. This is the cub's father and as such the cub can trust him without doubt or worry. Another male lion would certainly kill the cub without thought, but not his father. We can trust our Father as well. To us He is "meek and mild", and we are safe with Him. We need to remember though that He will correct any behavior that needs correcting, just as the cub would get corrected, but never, ever unjustly. This correction is something that the cub accepts without question from it's father and we should too. There is mighty power in Our Father and it is by His own choice that He never uses it in an unjust or resentful way.
As we grow closer to God our Father by keeping our focus on His Holy Spirit, we will be able to portray this picture to others around us. Many people do not understand this part of the complex nature of God and it can keep them from making a commitment to Him. Because He exerts Himself to be Meek, leashing in His mighty power until it is needed or deserved, some think He is weak and ineffectual. Some are frightened of His power and are not able to contemplate growing any closer to Him even though He issues an invitation to come and accept His gift of Salvation. We need to know Him as our Father in order to learn this "resting between the paws" kind of trust. As the Fruit of the Spirit makes plain the "Meek" side of God's nature through us, we can help others learn this kind of trust. A very good example of how the Holy Spirit can do this is found in the Narnia series by christian author C.S. Lewis. Allowing the Holy Spirit to guide him, Lewis was able to help people, especially children, gain an insight into the leashed power that is part of the Meekness of God's nature. He pointed out to every one who has read his books that God is both the Lion and the Lamb!
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth."
Isaiah 53:6-7 KJV