Boldly We Bow

11-22-02

One of the gifts afforded to Christians through the efforts of Jesus Christ is the blessing of approaching God’s throne of grace. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews penned, "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. . . 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 4:14,16 NKJV). Not only does Christ provide Christians with the opportunity to come to the throne of God for mercy and grace, but also the privilege of approaching "boldly." J.D. Bales writes of this passage, "The word rendered ‘boldly’ literally means ‘with all speaking’: that is, with ability to speak everything which a person wishes to say. . . If we thought just of our own lack of merit, we would fear to come before Him. We fear to come to people whom we think will not understand. When we think of our shortcomings, we are timid about approaching Him. But when we think of His grace and the blood of Jesus, we come boldly."

What does one say when he bows before God? A seventeenth-century Frenchman named Francois Fenelon wrote, "Tell God all that is in your heart as one unloads one's heart – its pleasures and its pains – to a dear friend. Tell Him your troubles, that He may comfort you; tell Him your joys, that He may sober them; tell Him your longings, that He may purify them; tell Him your dislikes, that He may help you to conquer them; talk to Him of your temptations, that He may shield you from them; show Him the wounds of your heart, that He may heal them; lay bare your indifference to good, your depraved tastes for evil, your instability. Tell Him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity tempts you to be insincere, how pride disguises you to yourself and to others. If you thus pour out all your weaknesses, needs, troubles, there will be no lack of what to say. You will never exhaust the subject. It is continually being renewed. People who have no secrets from each other never want for subjects of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back, neither do they seek for something to say. They talk out of the abundance of the heart without consideration, they say just what they think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved intercourse with God."

Because of Christ, we may come "boldly" before the throne of God. When was the last time you bowed before God "boldly," pouring out all that is in your heart? If it has been awhile, why not bow before Him right now and take advantage of this wonderful blessing.