Boldness in Days of Indecision

Every now and again I choose to post a sanctified rant here on the TTM blog. Today, my selected rant is based off of what I read in 1 Thessalonians 2:1-13. Take sixty seconds and read it for yourself. You will note some comments from me in parentheses.

 

“For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness (BOLDNESS IN DIFFICULTY) in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict (FOCUS ON PRIORITIES). 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive (HONESTY), 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts (LOYALTY TO GOD). 5  For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed— God is witness. 6  Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children (SERVANTHOOD). 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us (APPRECIATION). 9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God (HARD WORK). 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers (INTEGRITY). 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory (CHALLENGING OTHERS). 13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers (GRATITUDE).” – 1 Thessalonians 2:1-13

 

Brothers and sisters, we need to get reacquainted with boldness in the midst of difficulty.

 

Paul told the Thessalonians, “But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness…”  We should find this interesting because it is often the opposite of what happens to many people as they endure trials. Suffering and shameful treatment for being a follower of Christ may not be your lot in life at this point. Lesser sufferings, however, are something we can all identify with. Somehow the fires that Paul had endured had forged his commitment like steel.

 

They did not melt him despair, nor harden him in bitterness…his trials served to galvanize him.

 

When it seems that you may be losing something precious to you in life there will be an accompanying temptation to believe that all else is for naught. Smoldering resentment may seek to enter; self-focus and self-reward will seem reasonable.  Retreat?  I suppose this also is possible.  When Paul encountered opposition in life (and when did he not?), his choice was to let lesser things leave him so that he could give himself more fully to the priority in his life.

 

I’m told that adrenaline in the body teaches us to give ourselves to either fight or flight.  We either dig in for battle or flee the field in fear. I’m a proponent of the former above the latter. It is highly likely that your commitment to boldness in God will yield something far more valuable than whatever is being lost through the trial. When they were small, I reinforced to my children that well-worn cliché “Quitters never win and winners never quit.” I did not want my children to ever give up because, in doing so, they would negate the reality of a limitless God whose ways often only appear wise and good to those who endure pain with the response of bold trust. Both Alicia and Landon have had intense hardships and painful circumstance during their lives. By God’s grace – and through their own relentless pressing into Him – neither have fallen by the wayside while they have watched scores of others who went could not endure less severity than they did. They were bold, even when they trembled, doubted, and hurt. Boldness is less of a cavalier strut and more of an unbroken stride.

 

So, be bold, dear friend.  Gloriously fight in boldness where God has enabled you. Don’t continue to pound on the door He has now sovereignly closed – behind it is a completed season in your life and nothing remains there for you. Another door is opening so boldly ask, boldly seek, and boldly knock. Tuck in your lower lip, straighten your slumping shoulders, and recall that you are in the presence of a King! Let Him never see you in a posture of defeat when He has imparted unto you resurrection reality.

 

Be bold. Be tenacious. Defy your discouragements until they find a new home. Let faith fuel you – not simply positive thinking, but the appropriated awareness that you have been reborn to live as an overcomer and a conqueror.  Today is a day wherein glory is available…go find it and give it to God.

 

While others shuffle their feet and shrug their shoulders in indecision, let your own attitude and actions reveal that you are confident that God is for you and with you and in you.