Nothing can change your position before God

No matter what happens, no matter who tries or what powers might conspire, nothing can change your position before God. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. We can be bold in this world for Christ because we know that we are safe in Christ’s love. We do not need to worry about falling out of God’s love. Christ is holding on to us and nothing can take us from His hand. We no longer look to the approval of people for our direction or self-worth. This gives us God-grounded confidence. We no longer need to be afraid of what people think because we are not living for people, we are living for God.

Because of God’s sovereign grace and unshakable promise of faithfulness, we are not only freed from the fear of failure, we have been freed to live boldly. We are free to attempt things that we know we would never be able to do or accomplish on our own. And we don’t have to be afraid because we have the unshakable promise of God’s grace and God’s faithfulness backing us up. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that “God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

God knew Joshua needed to be free from the fear of failure and have the freedom in his faith and leadership to be bold so He encouraged him in Joshua 1:9 saying, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

When God spoke to Jeremiah and revealed that he had been called to be a prophet, Jeremiah was scared and unsure of himself or his abilities. He did not think he could do it. He was too young. He was not a good speaker. So God spoke to him in Jeremiah 1:8 saying, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the LORD.”

You can be bold in standing up for your faith and telling the good news to anyone because Jesus said, make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict (Luke 21:14-15).

The reason for our boldness is not based in our strength. Our reason for boldness is not hindered by our weaknesses or shortcomings. Our boldness is grounded in Christ and on God’s promises to glorify Himself through us. When we are about the Father’s business we have been promised that we will be given everything we need to do our part in God’s work. This is a very important distinction. The boldness we have been freed for is not for doing anything we want. It is for doing what God wants us doing.

You can take risks that the world sees as foolish because God wants to do great things through you. Because “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:27-31).

God uses the weak to show His strength. He uses imperfect people to accomplish His perfect will. When God works through us, through our failures, and through us in spite of our inadequacies, there is no question that what was accomplished was accomplished in the power of God. He gets all the glory due his name. And we get all the joy of having seen God work through us and with us to accomplish His great purposes. That is awesome!

You have been freed from the prison of fear and have been given the freedom to risk and be bold. So get out there and do not be afraid, because the Lord your God has spoken to you saying, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”