Tag Archives: Boldness

July 4, 2020 · 11:16 am

THE DEATH OF KING UZZIAH

Growing up, I recall many people in the generation of my grandparents telling stories and using the year of the influenza epidemic as a reference point to indicate the period of certain events. Many of them were not literate enough at that time to keep dates, the best way they could give an indication of when certain events occurred was to use the year of the influenza epidemic as a benchmark. So, it was usual to hear: “2 years before the influenza…” or “4 years after the influenza…”. In more recent history in Nigeria, we still have some people from the older generations who built another benchmark around the Nigerian Civil War.

As a matter of fact, in different cultures, many of such benchmarks exist. Most of the common benchmarks found in the Bible are built around different kings of Israel and Judah. Many stories in the Bible, especially in the books of 1&2 Kings and 1&2 Chronicles start with such benchmarks to help Bible historians set dates of different events. One of such key benchmarks was captured in Isaiah 6:1

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple (NIV)

In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. (NASB)

It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. (NLT)

With this benchmark, it was possible for historians to trace the year of this event to 740 B.C.

This verse has often been misinterpreted to imply that King Uzziah had to die for Isaiah to see the Lord and by extension, it means that some people have to die for us to experience the level of blessing that God intends for us. If they don’t die, we remain limited and in bondage. Since we cannot attack these evil people and kill them by ourselves, we resort to praying and asking God to kill everyone that is acting as a ‘King Uzziah’ in our lives.

Uzziah

If indeed anybody has the powers to frustrate and manipulate the life of a Christian against the will and purpose of the ALMIGHTY God, then something is wrong somewhere. Jesus died, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, gave us the power to become children of God – the same ALMIGHTY God that created the world and everything in it. It is this same ALMIGHTY God that parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to pass on dry ground and gave them awesome victories along the way to the Promised Land. There is no power that is big enough to derail the purpose of this ALMIGHTY God. It is not just possible, it cannot happen.

We have several reassuring verses in the Bible that allude to this:

The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe – Proverbs 18:10 (NIV)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, Will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand]. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust [with great confidence, and on whom I rely]!” Psalms 91: 1-2 (AMP)

“People will make weapons to fight against you, but their weapons will not defeat you. Some people will say things against you, but anyone who speaks against you will be proved wrong.” The Lord says, “That is what my servants get! They get the good things that come from me, their Lord – Isaiah 54:17 (ERV)

Let us be bold, then, and say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” – Hebrews 13:6 (GNB)

The servant of the man of God got up early and went out, and behold, there was an army with horses and chariots encircling the city. Elisha’s servant said to him, “Oh no, my master! What are we to do?”  Elisha answered, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  Then Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, please, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha – 2 Kings 6: 15-17(AMP)

The word of God is ever true, forever constant and it doesn’t change with circumstances. It is not selective and it is not bound by geography. God does not need permission from anyone to do what He wants to do in our lives and no one is big enough to derail His purpose. He will keep preparing tables before us in spite of the people that may not like us. The only thing we have to do is to make sure we do not break the hedge and find ourselves outside the ‘Shadow of the Almighty’. Armed with this knowledge, you can lie down and sleep, and none will make you afraid. Stay connected to the vine.

I wrote a piece a while ago about the source of our unwavering boldness and confidence as Christians… INFORM YOUR FEARS

 

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March 3, 2019 · 11:10 pm

INFORM YOUR FEARS

During a thrilling team building trip with my colleagues, one of the activities I had to complete was a zip wire ride, set up between two trees. I eagerly donned the gear for the ride, with my steel toe boots, helmet, hand gloves, body harness and a safety line all in place. My confidence was overflowing. I had seen people do it on TV and imagined that it would be easy. Also, some of my colleagues had also gone ahead of me on the activity and appeared to enjoy the ride.

When I got to the launch pad on top one of the trees, my confidence level dropped below zero. Palpable fear had a firm grip on me. I couldn’t take the ‘step of faith’ to leave the pad. I practically had to be coerced to continue the ride as I seriously considered aborting the launch.

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So, what was I afraid of? The fact is that I had NOTHING to be afraid of. My brain just chose to be temporarily ignorant of the fact that I had several lines of defence with my safety gear and ultimately, the body harness and safety line would keep me safely suspended in the air if anything went wrong. My fear was completely unfounded. If only I had stepped back to reason around the circumstances, I would have realized that there was indeed no need to fear and calmed myself down. Well, I eventually managed to get off the launch pad and completed the ride safely as expected.

Fear resulting from ignorance is what Elisha’s servant experienced in 2 Kings 6:15 until his eyes were opened and he saw the hordes of horses and chariots of fire that were at their service. With this realization, he ‘informed’ his fears and went about his business with the courage and boldness of a lion. No evil could befall them, despite the number of enemies that surrounded them. We know how the story ends.

Fear resulting from ignorance made 10 out of 12 spies see themselves as grasshoppers compared to the giants in the promised land. They ultimately did not set foot in the promised land. Joshua and Caleb experienced the same giants, acknowledged that there were giants in the land but they ‘informed’ the fear of giants with the knowledge of God’s ability and obtained their inheritance in the land flowing with milk and honey.

On the flip side, Daniel and the three Hebrew boys had some level of knowledge that completely annihilated ignorance. They had no modicum of fear no matter the fire that they faced or the danger of the lions’ den, because they knew God. They knew what God could do. They knew that God would never leave them nor forsake them. They knew that God had good thoughts and plans for them, to give them an expected end. They knew that God would deliver them from the many afflictions that they had to face. They knew the God in whom they believed and were persuaded that he could keep whatever was committed to Him. They knew more than what they had been told about God. They knew God for themselves. They way John knew Jesus and boldly declared:

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 1 John 1:1 [NLT]

With this type of knowledge, there is no way fear can result from ignorance, because we will always have superior knowledge with which we can inform our fears. Situations will always arise that will test this resolve, but we can rest assured that God has not changed and He will not change. We will be in desperate situations if our knowledge bank is empty and there is nothing with which we can inform our fears.

Daniel and his friends didn’t just stumble upon the knowledge of God and we will not stumble upon this knowledge either. It takes diligent, consistent study and our aim should be to ‘Study to show ourselves approved unto God…rightly dividing the Word of truth’ 2 Tim 2:15. The way a house is built from its foundation one brick at a time, that’s the way we will develop the knowledge of God (precept upon precept, line upon line) with which we can inform all fears and stand our ground victoriously. Unfortunately, if we cannot inform our fears, our fears will inform us and rule our lives. It should not be so, because “ the Word is near us, it is in our mouths and in our hearts…” Romans 10:8

Photo credit nutreaunnino.com

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December 10, 2013 · 8:07 am

COURAGE

1997. The year of many firsts in my life. Some things that happened in that year are permanently etched on my memory – never to be forgotten. It was my first year as an undergraduate, the first time I wore a pair of Jeans, the first time I ate in a ‘buka’ and the first time I slept ‘69’ on a hostel bed. One of those firsts reminds me of my absolute lack of courage and guts in those days.

I was in a Christian fellowship of first year students and in order for us to begin the process of having the school ‘pass through’ us; we formed visiting pairs, which changed every week. One of those weeks, I had to visit someone in the girls’ hostel. All the courage I thought I had just disappeared. But for the fact that I had to give a report of the visit, I would have abandoned the idea. I made many false starts: I would leave my room, all psyched up and when I got to the last turn before the room; I would take the opposite turn. This happened twice and with the third trial, I managed to pull myself to the door of the room and tapped gently on the door.

I sat on the only chair that was available in my host’s corner of the room. I slowly took the drink that I was offered and pretended to be busy memorizing her collection of pictures. I crossed the first hurdle; the next hurdle was to hold a meaningful conversation. On this particular day, that did not just happen for me. At least I had visited the room and I was not going to default on my assignment.

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I can look back at that event now and have a good laugh at my own expense. However, lack of courage could cost us some very important things that we won’t be able to laugh about. Lack of courage could mean that we’re not able to share the good news of the gospel to someone that is gallantly heading the wrong way or we are not able to pray for that sick person, even when we have been given the power to lay hands on the sick for healing. You may actually have your own example of what this has cost you. All sorts of thoughts could run through our minds and drain any courage that we have been able to muster: “What if he doesn’t get healed when I pray”, “What if I get trashed for sharing the gospel”, “What if … (fill in your own blanks)”

However, the Word of God is complete and has more than enough profitable prescriptions for this malaise, this is just one of them: 2Tim 1:7

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (NIV)

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.” (AMP)

“God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.” (MSG)

If you really understand this verse, then there is no stopping you by God’s grace. You may only get one chance to take that leap.

photocredits: autismaspirations.com

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