Many may mistake a meek and humble soul for weakness. However, a quiet spirit gives us wisdom. Proverbs 29:11 says:
“A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” (Proverbs 29:11 ESV)
We will always have a difficult time maintaining a quiet spirit when we fall into the temptation to believe that we must always get our feelings off our chest. We must express every feeling we ever feel or “give full vent” to the spirit as the scripture just told us. But the Bible tells us this is foolish.
Now it’s not saying don’t have feelings. It’s not saying stuff your feelings or ignore your feelings, but it’s saying to be wise with how you express your feelings; whether that be how you act, how you interact with someone else, or what you say.
A quiet spirit knows when to hold back. Not forever, not hold in, not ignore, but how to quietly hold back. And what does that take? That takes trust in God to say, “God, I trust you with these feelings right now to the point where I don’t have to feel like I need to get rid of them by lashing out.” A quiet spirit gives us wisdom to know when to express and when to hold back.
And this is so powerful because it’s going to help you in your relationships with other people. It’s going to help you to stay focused on the task and the call that God has on your life so that you don’t rush into things too soon or so that you don’t miss out on things that God is calling you to do right now. A quiet spirit gives you the wisdom to be led by God and not every feeling or emotion you have. When you have that quiet spirit, it gives you the wisdom to know what to do and how to manage your heart, and not have your heart manage you. Today, I encourage you to seek God for wisdom in His Word and through prayer on when to speak and when to be quiet.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, please give me wisdom on when to speak and when to be quiet. When I’m tempted to be led by my feelings, please forgive me and help me to be led by Your spirit. In Jesus Christ’s Name, I pray. Amen.