“The wicked flee, though no one pursues, but the righteous are bold like a lion.”  – Proverbs 28:1, ISV

During my childhood and in the early years of my youth, I was a very shy person.  In fact I was so shy that I could not even raise a hand to say something in class.

Today, I am always the first to come forward should they ask if there’s anyone who wants to say something.

I do it deliberately as a celebration of my victory over social anxiety. It is a testament of God’s work in my life over the years.

Whereas many of us do feel nervous when required to speak in public merely out of fear of what people would say or think of us, there are times when what you say could land you into hot soup.

Yet when what we have to say is absolutely important though risky, that is when boldness becomes a virtue.

Now, ‘boldness’ is not the same as courage, confidence or bravery though they may be synonyms. 

The Greek word for ‘bold’ denotes ‘being warm’ – describing how a person’s heart instinctively becomes warmer through the production of adrenaline in preparation for a fight.

In our meditation today, King Solomon, who was never a coward himself, states that people who don’t know God are frightened about everything, even over unreal dangers.

They’re like frightful little animals of prey in the savanna, which flee for dear life even when nothing is chasing them. 

In contrast, a lion won’t panic and will not hesitate to confront any threat without fear or favour.

Boldness is the willingness or readiness to take and face risky situations. 

Someone who is bold is not shy and is not afraid to do things that others dread because they involve a high level of risk or danger or painful consequences. 

In these last days, God is calling us to seek Him once again so as to be imbued with divine boldness so as to confront the destructive forces that are arrayed against the Body of Christ.

Since time immemorial, boldness has been an essential quality for a successful relationship with God.

In the Old Testament, the Patriarchs, Moses, the prophets and the saints had to be bold so as to make a stand for God in an evil and ungodly world.

Our Lord Jesus was the perfect example of boldness. You remember how He took a whip and single-handedly kicked a crowd of businessmen out of the temple?

He never feared to speak the truth even when it put Him in the line of fire.

After His ascension to heaven, Jesus’ Apostles and the Early Church also saw boldness as indispensable to their ministry amid intense persecution and suffering. 

In Acts 4:29, they held a prayer meeting with boldness on top of the list of prayer requests:

“Lord, behold their threats: and grant to your servants, that with all boldness they may speak your Word.”

Today, rarely do Christians pray for boldness, which of course explains why the Church is not experiencing the power that Early Church had.

Then God answered their prayer: “And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness” (verse 31).

Would you describe yourself as a bold person when it comes to the things of God or you’re a coward who is afraid of being “discourteous”?

Well, check your personal relationship with the Holy Spirit since He is the source of all boldness. 

In our world today where we are always being warned against the ‘risks’ and causing offence, spiritual boldness is increasingly becoming a rare virtue.

In fact politicians and activists tend to have more boldness than Christians. Is it any wonder then that there so few miracles, signs and wonders in the Church?

Many people are not aware that miracles thrive in an environment of spiritual boldness.

In these last days, God is calling us to seek Him once again so as to be imbued with divine boldness so as to confront the destructive forces that are arrayed against the Body of Christ.  We need it like never before.

Prayer:

Almighty God, I refuse to be a coward. I will not be intimidated by the enemy. I will face the world and the future with boldness and fortitude. I will be bold like a lion because I trust in You In Jesus Name, Amen!