Are Your Brave Enough to Be Bold?
The path we take is paved by our decisions.
But, honestly, I get tired of always having to make decisions.
Do this.
Don’t do that.
Respond this way.
Do not respond at all.
Ignore this.
Embrace that.
Tired especially when my decisions do not produce the expected result
over,
and over,
and over again.
It takes me to a place of exhaustion that I can only describe as empty.
Empty.
Tapped out.
Washed out.
Beyond the emotional sea of overwhelm and into an abyss of “whatever”.
There is a drawing of spirit, a withdrawal of energy that occurs when we continually overextend ourselves to no result.
Emptiness.
From Emptiness to Empty Grave
When left to its own devices, random is a consumer of your creativity. A predator of purpose. It slowly sucks the air out of the room.
The devil loves the random nature of your emptiness.
And so, you are faced with a choice…
Do I chose to live life on empty, or in the spirit of an empty grave?
When are you going to rise?
Be honest. Is there something, some space in your existence that feels like a void? A space where you have tried and failed to ad nauseum? Maybe it’s time to learn the lesson. Maybe it’s time to go bold or go home.
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. ~Hebrews 4:16, New Living Translation
Why are you being timid?
Go and get what you need from God!
Tell him what you need.
Tell him what you are feeling.
Tell him your frustration. Your disappointments.
And don't stop.
Keep it coming. Keep it coming until you feel the void filling up with his living water.
Keep it coming until God has no choice but to bend his ear to you.
In my twenties, I experienced a season of immense and unexplained pain. Every time I turned my head even slightly to the left it felt like a wall of nails attacking my face and neck. Medication did little except to impend my ability to function throughout the day. The exhaustion of months with no relief began to take its toll, making life itself feel random and unstructured. I was overwhelmed. Hopeless. Empty. And yes, still Christian.
Then… one day… I got fed up.
I decided to call out Jesus’ name every single time I hit that wall of nails.
Every time.
Every single time.
Jesus, in the morning. Jesus while driving. Jesus in my sleep. In the middle of a conversation. Whispered while on the phone with a customer.
And why not? Nothing else had worked.
What did I have to lose?
If I believe he is my High Priest, my intercessor, my friend, why not call him?
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. ~Hebrews 4:16 NLT
I made a decision I could trust for an expected result.
Heaven was going to hear me about this.
Jesus was going to be reminded of those days when his flesh was weak.
Reminded that he is my Redeemer, saving me today, tomorrow and for all eternity.
Reminded that he is my High Priest. Always.
Reminded that I did not forget his sacrifice, so Lord, please remember mine.
There’s something about that name - Jesus.
I knew God could heal me, but I also knew at the very least if he chose not to, he would still know my emptiness.
Something about the name - Jesus.
And I never gave myself a deadline to stop. If it took the rest of my life, I was determined to keep calling his name.
It is the sweetest name I know.
This went on for a little over a month, then… slowly… without any notice…the wall of nails began to dissipate. It went away so subtlety I almost forget it was ever there.
Oh, how I love the name - Jesus.
Up to that point, I had never experienced such a prominent physical healing experience.
Oh, how I love the name - Jesus.
This me knowing for myself that His strength was made perfect in my weakness.
It is the sweetest name I know.
Brave Enough to be Bold
Empty was the give-up spirit I had resigned to live in. Empty grave was the new existence I chose to walk into and truly live.
This blog has been a great reminder for me to chose an empty grave. Daily. Let nothing keep me from boldly grabbing the horns of the alter and crying out to the only one who can heal and fill the voids in my life.
The path we take is paved by our decisions. Are you brave enough to be bold? Wherever you are in your prayer journey, it’s time to go bolder.
In the meantime, know that I love you but God love you more!
PHILLIPA WILLIAMS
AUTHOR | BLOGGER
