Long before I committed to doing the World Race God had been doing a work in me to be bold, and I resisted that change for so long. I’ve touched on this subject briefly before, but God is continuing to speak to me about boldness in this new season of my life.
Something that all World Racers are familiar with is this awesome organization called Keys for the Journey. Before launching into the field, all racers are given the opportunity to purchase a key. On this key is written a word, phrase or scripture for that person to pray over for their life. Whenever purchasing a key, you have the option to choose what to write on your key or have the designer pray what to write on it. My key says “BOLD”.
In Ephesians 3:12 Paul wrote that we have been given access to Godly boldness and confidence through our faith in Jesus. In Ephesians 6:20 Paul also wrote “Pray that I may preach the wonderful news of God’s kingdom with bold freedom at every opportunity. Even though I am chained as a prison, I am His ambassador (TPT).
When I read these scriptures several things jumped out at me. First of all, Paul is telling us that when we put our faith in Jesus, we can then receive the same boldness and confidence that He walked in. Paul knew that if he put his trust in the Lord, boldness would follow. But ONLY while his trust was in God. Which is why Paul also prayed that he would be able to share the Word with BOLD FREEDOM.
The last part of Ephesians 6:20 speaks to me as well. Despite being in prison, Paul was still committed to being an ambassador for the Kingdom of God. The dictionary defines an ambassador as an authorized messenger or representative of the highest rank. Paul knew just what an honor it was for him to share the gospel with others. He knew that his life’s purpose was to be a messenger for the Lord and to represent God with his life. 2nd Corinthians 5:20 calls us ambassadors as well. This means that above all else, our lives should reflect Jesus back to others, and that we should make it a mission in our lives to “carry the message of Christ to the world” (TPT).
In order to do this we MUST MUST MUST first put our trust in God, and then we must operate in the boldness and confidence that comes along with that. When we put our faith and trust in God we are communicating that we are aware we can’t do things in our own strength. Paul had his faith out there, and he knew that boldness would come upon him as he put his trust in God, but he still asked for prayer to fulfill this goal.
This is why I LOVE my key and plan to wear it everyday. My key serves as a reminder for me to pray that I would operate in the boldness everyday— a boldness that God has already given me! I need only to step into it.
