Humble boldness

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:15-16

I am learning that the only way we can truly come to grasp the magnificent power, truth, and grace of the Bible is to approach it with a posture of humility—an openness and acknowledgment that there is something—Someone—within it who can redeem us. Otherwise, we remain unable to receive the outpouring of mercy that hovers over its pages like a powerful wave, ready to be unleashed upon our souls.

As we receive the Word of God in a spirit of humility, as we apply all that it offers to our lives, we are then able to boldly approach the throne of grace, as the writer of Hebrews declares. To boldly approach the throne of grace is not to stand before God with a clenched and shaking fist, pridefully demanding our way. Rather, it is to humbly and honestly entrust our every need and deepest desires to His power and care, believing Him to be perfect Goodness and Love—confident that He always has our best interest in mind. For in the grand scheme of the cosmos, He is sovereign and omniscient, desiring to help us as He knows is best, for “his understanding no one can fathom” (Isaiah 40:28).

It is because of this very truth that we are invited, in our limited perspectives and understandings, to boldly approach the throne of grace, which, ultimately, is not our demand of it, but our surrender to it. And, beautifully, the Spirit intercedes, perfecting and aligning our wills with the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).

~em

Photo credit: Mads Schmidt Rasmussen