Thursday, July 17, 2008

A Gentle and Quiet Spirit








I have seen the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit and very much desire to work on this attribute in my life. I liked what Nancy Wilson shares on it:

"Some people mistakenly think that a gentle and quiet spirit is displayed when a woman never speaks. This has concerned some of the outgoing personalities because they don't know how to be a silent lump. 

This is merely looking at externals. Certainly sometimes a quiet spirit will be exhibited by silence, but not always. And a quiet person can be all worked up on the inside. 

This is missing the point. A heart that is resting in the faithfulness of God is gentle and quiet; it is not stirred up with worry and anxiety. 

This gentle and quiet spirit is a calm, peaceful spirit. It is a tame spirit, a gentled spirit. I have often compared this kind of spirit to a glassy lake, not turbulent or troubled, but hardly showing a ripple. 

In contrast, the anxious spirit is like a stormy sea with whitecaps whipping along the shore. This of course brings to mind our Lord calming the troubled Sea of Galilee. 

Likewise, He can calm our troubled spirits when we look to Him."


Isn't that a beautiful picture? Contrast this with the woman who is:

Loud and overbearing

Obnoxious

Wild, untamed

Angry

Bitter

Acting masculine, macho, tough

Flirting, teasing

Critical

Always gossiping

Trying to be center of attention-drawing attention to self and not God



We have all seen her. Sadly, sometimes we are her. But as we turn our hearts toward God, He begins to shape our lives to become like Him. I think that our prayer everyday needs to be focused on how we can grow these traits in our lives.

"Lord, help us to be the women you want us to be. Help to grow and cultivate that gentle and quiet spirit that you desire for us to have and to show true beauty to the world-not the counterfeit beauty that the world has to offer that fades away. May it be a light to all people so they will know who you are. Help us repent of a wrong spirit and convict us when we off course. You are mighty and we are thankful for your Mighty Hand in our lives. And we ask this in your Son's Holy name, Jesus Christ. Amen."




If you need further reading or encouragement on this topic we recommend Putting on a Gentle & Quiet Spirit: 




Elizabeth George takes readers through a thought–provoking study of Peter’s teachings on handling trials and persecutions, including: suffering for doing good; understanding the mysteries of God; and fanning the flame of faith. The special “heart response” sections offer readers suggestions to help them apply biblical truths to their lives and focus on the amazing glory God promises.


You can find this book HERE.

29 comments:

Karina said...

Thank you, Im really stuggling in this area! I feel like the more I pray the more I get worse.... Im frustrated.

God Chaser said...

So glad I found your site. I saw the title and becasue I have a desire to be a woman with a quiet and gentle spirit i was immediatley drawn here. thanks for your insight. Love the prayer I would love to put it my journal. Please let me know if it is ok.

willnette

God Chaser said...

I must come back again I read several of your posts on a quiet and gentle spirit. What a beautiful site it truly has touched my heart. I was trying to make a decison tonight that I feel 2 things about the Holy Spirit lead me here because I wanted my actions to be truthful-please come to my blog there will be something for you there.
I wasn't able to complete all the post but I will be back. You are truly bless with the Spirit of the Lord

Liberty said...

This is such a perfect quote. It takes guilt off of me where it shouldn't be and helps me focus on what I should be truly focusing on.

The Editrix said...

Oh, yes. . . I need to become more like the woman you described. I'm going to need a lot of help from God, though! It's so easy to become angry and speak damaging words, even to the ones we love the most.

T said...

Beautiful! Thank you so much for this.

June Fuentes @ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home said...

Dear God-chaser,

What a great name! You are more than welcome to--thanks so much for your kind words, award and visiting! May your home be blessed and may the Lord continue to do a mighty work in your life.

Many blessings...

Abounding Treasures said...

Mrs Fuentes,

This has been such an inspiring and challenging post for me ~ what insight Nancy Wilson gives into that verse and its full meaning!

Thanks for sharing her quote and your thoughts in a moving prayer, that echoes from my own heart :o)

by His grace,
Dallas

TeacherMommy said...

Aww...can't I have a gentle spirit and still be silently bitter?? LOL

Ivy Vega from www.ivysmind.com said...

I can echo many of the comments written here. The word of God gives a clear description on how to have a gentle and quite spirit. By far, this is my biggest area of struggle. I am not even sure how I found your blog, but you have blessed me today. Thank you for wonderful encouraging words. I will love to link it to my blog. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Mrs. Fuentes, I wish you could know how your blog has helped me.

Unfortunately, I'm the woman that you described. I'm loud, obnoxious, self-seeking and anxious.

I don't have a quiet spirit.

I'm trying to figure out what femininity is all about at age 42. *sighs*

Thank you for helping me.

Anonymous said...

Hello, I was just wondering if you noticed any langage delays with the younger children? It seems like my baby is delayed. I know each child is diffrent but I worry that my baby is behind he is 14 months and does not seem to understand alot of things that my other kids did when they were that age.

Stephie said...

I found this sight while searching for bible verses describing a quiet spirit because my aunt is terminal and I was asked to prepare the service. Is is a quite spitit. She always does everything with great class and style, with patients and love. Even in her exceptance of lung cancer was quite and calm. Always reassuring us that she was in no pain. Now she has taken a turn for the worse and is no longer comminucating. I need to find the right words to honor her/

Cookie said...

Mrs. June, this post has brought tears to my eyes. Your blog has been ministering to my soul the very moment I found it. I struggle with this issue in my life because I find myself with anger and bitterness inside that surfaces every now and then. I pray (and pray some more) that God will mold me into the woman He has meant me to be. Thank you so much for this post! Be blessed always.

rosepetals said...

Thank you for sharing this. It really helps me cultivate a quiet and gentle spirit so precious in the sight of God. God bless you and keep on nurturing women to become the women God wants them to become. All the glory to Him, Father and Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

Unknown said...

Hi I am a follower of your blog and have very much enjoyed it. But that is not why I am putting a comment on a two almost three year old post. You see I am 20 and my Dad has me doing a study report on A Gentle and Quite Spirit and I was having a hard time trying to describe a gentle and quite spirit, so I googled it think I could find something that would help. This post was the third thing on the list of link about gentle and quite spirit. I just wanted you to know that this is still helping people today, even after all these years. Thank you ever so much
Samantha
from reillyclan13

Meee said...

A gentle and quiet spirit is something God has been tugging on me for a while. I am not there yet but whenever I listen to the Holy Spirit and stay quiet and give my frustration to God instead, I have seen beautiful results. I've learned that when I'm stressed out and wants to yell out my feelings, if I just give those feelings to God in silence, He helps me to calm down and be gentle. I learned that it's a lot better to just obey what the word tells us women to do than to do what we want to do. When we obey the word, we receive the power from God to not only see changes in ourselves but also those around us, especially our husbands.

Meee said...

Dear Karina,
I totally feel you. Keep talking to God about your frustrations. Don't stop until He helps you to be gentle and quiet in your spirit. Jesus said, in Mathew 11:28, 29 - Come to me... and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart. May God help you!

Meee said...

oops.. i just commented to somebody from 2008. sorry.

Anonymous said...

hello :) i was wondering if it is ok to print your articles for personal use? i like to keep a binder of inspiring articles, etc. and, if others might read them is that ok? i wouldn't ever try to make money from them. i'm thinking just in terms of inspiration.

thank you :)

~ camille
camille_rogers228@hotmail.com

Christina said...

When my husband left four years ago he said one of the reasons was that I would never be as gentle as he needed to me. Through the death of my marriage I have come to accept Christ as my savior however my exhusband's words still sting my heart and I am not certain I have made much progress in cultivating a gentle spirit. Thank you for this post as it is very helpful.

Anonymous said...

me too me too

Cari said...

Good morning, I just found your website when I typed in gentle and quiet spirit on google... thank you for your website, it is necessary, and I appreciate the opportunity to share as well. There are many things that I could share today, but I will keep it simple, GOD is so merciful, and even when I am so wrong, HIS Holy Spirit, so gentle and so quiet, draws me back to HIS side and allows me to see me and others the way HE does. What a wonderful GOD HE is. Shalom Yall!!! <><

Anonymous said...

I found this blog because I typed 'gentle and quiet spirit' after i was deeply convicted of acting much like what is listed above, the opposite of a gentle and quite spirit. I feel, convicted that when I become passionate about a subject I can easily Loud and overbearing Obnoxious, Wild, untamed
Angry, Bitter, Acting masculine, macho, tough and have certainly been guilty of Flirting, teasing, being Critical, often gossiping and yes even Trying to be center of attention-drawing attention to self and not God! Lord. Please forgive me and make me more like your Son, Jesus.
Bella.

Anonymous said...

Praying for you Christina. You are 'still' a beautiful person, just the way God created you. We 'all' need work, until the very end of our lives - I hope your ex husband can confess 'his' faults to God too. :-)

Mary Kathleen said...

Thank you. I often think I'm not rejoicing in the Lord, because I'm not overwhelmingly vocal to others... just might have a quiet spirit. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

@Christina,

Besides the Bible, I have found Christian author Elizabeth George's books to be helpful and the non-Christian/secular author Dr. Laura Schlessinger's book The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands.

Best wishes to you in your future.

Regards,
Grace

Anonymous said...

Yes I am learning about boundaries so I do get too anxious and worried.

Anonymous said...

I'm a man, and I think it's wonderful that many women are making the effort to be calm and gentle. Too many women in America have become more like men. Many articles have been written concerning this. This is why many men no longer want marriage. They don't need an always defensive, angry, shouting, justifying woman in their lives, one who can't listen with humility. And therein lies the problem for all of us. We've lost humility and shame. But I place half the blame on Television and the other half on women that watch it and tells them or shows them the way they think a woman should be in this world. Get away from the television and back to the bible, prayer, reading, etc.

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