Be Bold, Be Strong!

Be bold, be strong for the Lord your God is with you.
I am not afraid, I am not dismayed
Because I'm walking in faith and victory
Come on and walk in faith and victory
For the Lord your God is with you!
These words from an old song are ringing in my ear today! Boldness is a virtue! Our God asks us not to be fearful of anything except Him. When we are fearless of man and situations, we are free to walk according to God's ways and we can walk in faith and victory. When we fear God and not men, we are able to say:
Hebrews 13:6
We say with confidence,
 "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
 What can man do to me?"

If we fear man, then we are most likely to live a life of compromise as we are busy safeguarding ourselves and our position. We will end up serving whom we fear. If we fear God, we wil serve Him. If we fear man, we will serve man. We have a choice to make and our choice will determine our destiny! People who feared God were never put to shame! Think of Daniel who was cast into the furnace with his friends and who was thrown into the lions den, all for his refusal to dishonor God! We know that God delivered Daniel from the fire and the mouth of the lion and restored his honor before men! Think of Joshua and Caleb who had a different report to what the other ten spies had, that the Israelites could conquer the "giants" in the land! We know that the Lord delivered the land of Canaan into the Israelites hands!

Think of David who conquered Goliath on his own and brought victory to Israel because He feared no one but only God. He did what a trained military could not do. David stepped out in boldness and faced Goliath because he had the confidence that he will not be ashamed but that God will deliver this "Goliath" as the battle belongs to the Lord!

I Samuel 17: 34 - 37

But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

 I Sam 17: 45-47

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

Daniel, Joshua and Caleb are heroes because they chose not to fear men but only to fear God! When you stand up in boldness for God, you will not be let down by God but you will succeed!
Proverbs 14:26-27
He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress,
  and for his children it will be a refuge.
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,
  turning a man from the snares of death.

Fearing God is giving Him the reverential respect, honor, glory and preeminence that He alone deserves. Fearing God is telling God that nothing else matters to us and nothing else comes closer to knowing God and obeying Him! Have you made your choice today against the "Goliaths" you face today? Our destiny depends on whom we fear and honor.
Psalm 31:19
How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you,
which you bestow in the sight of men
on those who take refuge in you.
Be bold, be strong and fear God and you will surely walk in faith and victory!