Come Boldly

These happy little faces make me smile! Who can stay stressed when you
see God's beauty all around you?

"Our soul waits for the Lord; 

He is our help and our shield. 

For our heart shall rejoice in Him, 

Because we have trusted in His holy name.  

Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, 

just as we hope in You."  

Psalm 33:20-22

We've been having some stressful days lately.  I've mentioned it a couple of times, but not with too much emphasis.(see previous post "Great Is Thy Faithfulness").  In "Praying My Way Back Home" a few days ago I mentioned that I spent my trip home from work one day praying out loud all the way home to keep from falling asleep at the wheel.  Well, today, I prayed my way TO work not to stay awake, but because my heart was so burdened over the swelling tide of frustration and discouragement that was fomenting within the confines of our home. Two weeks without transportation for two of the three men in our home was beginning to take a huge toll on their spirits and attitudes. (Not to mention the fact that for one of them, it also meant the loss of employment.)  Lack of funds to solve the problem adequately and no reasonable solution in sight was rapidly spiraling into a major tidal wave of pent up anger and thinly veiled hostility aimed at each other for lack of anyone else on which to place the blame. I could feel the tension mounting last evening, and I knew it was about to spill over the dam this morning...so I was actually thankful I had a place to escape...i.e., work.

Have you ever felt the urgency to bind the forces of evil that seek to destroy the peace of your otherwise happy home?  Even without knowing what was erupting under the surface, the sudden compulsion to pray boldly overwhelms you...and you have to cry out to the Lord and tell Him the facts...as if He isn't already well aware...and plead with Him to take control and "fix" the problem right now!

I wonder if God doesn't mind this at all...that He actually wants us to get serious with our troubles and bring them to the Throne of Grace with boldness.  Perhaps this is what He meant in Hebrews chapter 4:

"For the word of God is living and powerful, 

and sharper than any two-edged sword,

piercing even to the division of soul and spirit,

and of joints and marrow,

and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

And there is no creature hidden from His sight,

but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him

to Whom we must give account.

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest

who has passed through the heavens,

Jesus Christ the Son of God,

let us hold fast our confession.

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize

with our weaknesses,

but was in all points tempted as we are, 

yet without sin.

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 4:12-16

Yeah, I think that is exactly what He meant when He directed these words to be written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  He expects us to come BOLDLY before His throne, lay our heavy burdens at His feet, implore Him to bring healing, solace, answers that make sense and within His divine will.

I can tell you truly that today this is what happened...and even though there was a major eruption from the smoldering volcano of frustration, the lanced boil brought forth healing. Although the actual reason for the distress is not yet fixed...the tension caused by the situation has been relieved...the flames have been doused with the cooling waters of God's mercy and grace.

And in the midst of this tsunami of roiling surf of emotions, a ray of hope came shining through the clouds. Help is actually on the way!  Hooray!!! Praise God!!! Amen!

Dear friend...listen to me...don't waste time in discussing, arguing, and venting your frustrations at each other. Take them directly to the ONE Who can do something about the situation...take it to Jesus before it ever gets that far along!  

He is ready to help you. 

He is expecting you to come. 

He already opened the door when He spread out His arms on the cross and died there for you, forever removing the veil that was blocking us from His throne. 

It's okay. You may approach Him boldly.  He said so.