Be Bold in 2014
Bill and I are s.l.o.g.g.i.n.g. our way through the Old Testament, and this week we’re reading in the book of Judges. Just so you know, Judges isn’t big on rainbows and butterflies. There’s moral failure, spiritual failure, enemy takeovers, and suffering caused by sin. And when all seems lost for the fledgling nation of Israel, God calls a bold, courageous leader to rescue them...over and over again.Yesterday we read about Deborah and Jael, two women not afraid to go head to head with their enemies--or in Jael’s case, tent peg to head. Two women who took huge risks—and stepped up with boldness.Today we read about Gideon, a wimpy guy the Lord referred to as a “mighty man of valor,” even while he was in his wimpy stage. But God kept nudging Gideon to speak out against sin, lead his nation against their enemies, and be that mighty man of valor God told him he was.So here’s where I’m going with this: I sense that God is calling me to be bold this year, first in prayer. I need to pray bold prayers:
- For two couples I know who are longing for children to hold babies this year.
- For two families I know to adopt children this year.
- And for two marriages to be healed—this year.
Along the way, God will no doubt call me to step up, take risks, and live with bold abandon. I need to quit worrying what everyone else thinks, or what everyone else might say or do. I wanna be like Deborah and Jael and Gideon. But maybe without the tent pegs. How about you? What bold thing is God asking you to do this year?Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16