The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions (Proverbs 28:1, NLT).
There are many words that I have heard people use to describe Christians. Christians have been described in my hearing as being hypocrites, judgmental, and as narrow minded. I have never heard someone say, “You know what, Christians are a bold bunch of people!” Boldness is a quality that seems exceptionally rare among God’s people today. Why do so few seem to attain the boldness described in Proverbs 28:1?
The well-known gospel singer Whitley Phipps said, “The biggest chink in the Christian’s armor today is that he thinks God is important—but not everything.” I believe that he hit the nail on the head. We put some level of confidence in God, we put some level of trust in God, we submit in some respect to God, but we do not often go all the way. God is important, God is powerful, God is faithful but God is not everything, God is not all-powerful, and God is not absolutely dependable. When your God is important but not everything, you are not going to let go of other things that are important to you. When you believe that God is powerful, but not all-powerful, you are not going to confidently enter the place where you know you are weak. When you believe God is faithful but not absolutely dependable, you are not going to live with the courage and boldness of a lion. Instead, you conclude that the effort will not be worth it.
We simply do not want to pay the cost of obedience. The cost may be comfort. The cost may be relationships. The cost may be the esteem of others. This comes from not placing our relationship with God above all else. Fear keeps us from being bold. We fear rejection. We fear the repercussions. We fear we will get in over our heads. We don’t have confidence in ourselves.
Learning To Be Full Of Grace And Truth. 
So true! Guilty. It’s part of dying to self. It’s all about Him. Nothing else should matter.
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Me too
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Ain’t that the truth?! Boldness is NOT one of my strengths. It is in my nature, however, to be subtle. As part of my major, I had to take a few art classes. My professor’s biggest complaint was not about my technique, composition, or beauty. She said it wasn’t bold enough. My color combinations were quiet, subtle, and safe. In music too, I have always been a blender. I love to harmonize. I don’t like to sing what everyone else is singing. I like to be the harmony, creating that subtle buzz in the chord. Yet as Christians, we are not called to harmonize with the world, but to sing a different melody. We are to be the yellow, loudly clashing with the black. We shouldn’t speak out to be noticed for ourselves, but to make people take notice of God. All too often, we are afraid because, as you say, we do not really trust God all the way.
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What a great illustration! I love it! Thanks so much for sharing your experience in this comment. 🙂
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So very true! Some of our lack of boldness is a lack of trust. When confronted and asked to defend our stance on Christ we become like deer in the headlights and our brains can go numb and our tongue thick. If in that moment we would stop and allow Christ to penetrate us, ask Him to take control, we just may be surprised at just how well we can defend our positions as we allow Him to speak for us. Yup, I am guilty too! Give us boldness and strength Lord!!
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Nailed it!
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:-))
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