Meekness is not weakness
Stoop to conquer
The phrase “stoop to conquer” has more than one application. In general, it means to act submissively to reach one’s goals. It also describes the universal experience of starting at the bottom of the ladder and gradually climbing to the top.
Noah did not become a hero quickly and easily. Given the tools of the time, he and his sons laboured for many years to build the ark to God’s specifications. When the flood eventually did come, they daily fed the animals on board, and removed their dung, for a whole year. When the project ended successfully, they could be hailed as the saviours of man and beast.
Abraham, the father of believers, started as a nomad in Canaan, negotiating for water and grazing rights for his animals. He moved from place to place, not knowing where he would go next.
From personal experience, my dad discovered that not all farmers are sympathetic toward trekking farmers, especially during a severe drought. Abraham, too, had to plead for compassion (Gen. 13:7-9, 14:20-24, 21:25-31).
After stealing his brother Esau’s birthright and blessing, Jacob fled to his mother’s family. When he returned after 20 years with two wives, two concubines, 12 children and lots of livestock, he got the message that brother Esau was approaching with 400 men. Jacob stooped to conquer. He sent servants ahead, each with a small flock of animals, to appease Esau with these gifts.
To make Jacob even more vulnerable, God sent his angel the previous night to dislocate Jacob’s hip joint. When the limping, bowing, pleading Jacob sank to his knees before his wronged brother, God gave Esau the mercy to be merciful. The brothers were reconciled.
After David fell in sin with Bathsheba, and the prophet Nathan opened David’s eyes for his sin, he was heartbroken and repented. He discovered that God did not trample broken people: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart — these, O God, you will not despise” (Ps. 51:17).
The prophet Isaiah gave King Hezekiah the shocking message that he would not survive his illness. The King turned his face to the wall, prayed and wept. Isaiah was sent back to the king with the good news that God would add 15 years to his life.
Fearing the enemy, Simon Peter denied three times that he knew Jesus. When he realized what he had done, he left the house of the high priest and wept bitterly. Jesus appeared to him after the resurrection and restored Peter as leader in the church (Luke 24:34, John 21).
Saul the persecutor became Paul the missionary when he bowed before the risen Christ. He later wrote, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10).
Jacob Van Zyl of Lethbridge is a retired counsellor and the author of several faith-based books.