Boldly

Walking with the Lord requires one to be bold. Throughout the Bible we see the people God chose had to be bold in their walk with Him. Whether He was calling them to strike a giant with a stone, face a vast army with just three hundred on their side, or be still when their enemy was behind them and the Red Sea was in front of them, it took boldness to trust in the Lord.

But today God is giving each one of us the opportunity to be bold, and inviting us to boldly approach His throne. That’s the privilege we’ve been given. Before, only high priests could approach His throne, and it would only be once a year, and after going through a vigorous protocol of rituals required by the law. The priests weren’t boldly approaching the Holy of Holies, because any mistake they made might mean the end of their life. To remind them of the seriousness of it all, they had a rope tied to their ankle to pull them out in case they died.

The Holy of Holies was a matter of life and death. No wonder the people marvelled when Zechariah lingered so long in the Holy of Holies. ‘And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he lingered so long in the temple’ (Luke 1:21).

But when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain was torn from top to bottom, and the privilege was awarded to all believers to have access, and boldly approach the Holy of Holies.

We approach boldly, not because we are arrogant, not because we are ‘holy than thou’, not because we are full of ourselves, not because we are prideful, but because our high priest Jesus, who has gone before us, gives us access. We can put on His righteousness, and when we boldly approach God’s throne, He sees us through the righteousness of His Son. That’s why the blood was shed, to wash us white as snow, and so we can clothe ourselves with the garments of righteousness.

The blood of Jesus has given us the boldness to not be intimidated by the whispers of the enemy. We can approach because of what Christ has done, and not what we have done, ‘in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him’ (Ephesians 3:12).

As we approach let’s keep in mind that His throne is not judgemental nor condemning. Firstly, it is the throne of our gracious God, secondly, we will receive His mercy, and thirdly we will find grace to help when we need it most.

Let’s not wait until we have put our life ‘together’, or we’ve ‘cleaned’ ourselves up, or we feel ‘perfect’. We need to approach His throne in our brokenness, our failures or successes, our pain, our guilt, and our rejection. He understands our weaknesses, for He was one of us. That’s why He is welcoming us to God’s throne to find mercy, grace and all the help we need.