Twitch-Free, Bold Moments

There was a part of Peter that couldn't believe he was speaking like this. Normally his knees would be weak by now. Wait a second? Was the voice speaking even his? It was so bold and full of confidence. There was even authority!

What was going on?

It was one of those moments where he felt like he was watching himself. The bold man standing there speaking to the religious leaders was not the wimp he felt like inside. The group of Sadducees were glowering at him, and the sunlight was a hot spotlight, but it didn't phase him at all. He was a lowly fisherman. He wasn't educated. He had no money to his name. He was essentially nothing.

Peter smirked a little and then quickly moved his mouth to a more neutral expression when one of the Sadducees glare turned even harsher.

He knew the reason.

It was Jesus. All of his hope, trust, and faith was in God now. He didn't care how they perceived him. He didn't care if they knew he was uneducated. He didn't care that he used to be a fisherman. He was doing God's work. The rest didn't matter anymore. He had given God his faith and trust, and in return, God had made him bold.

Based on Acts 4:13

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13

Ah, boldness. The gift that has always seemed to dodge my clumsy advances.

See I'm the type of person who was always told to "Speak up! I can't hear you!" in school. The high school student whose eye started twitching in speech class so that it looked like I was winking around the room like a sociopath. The scared little girl who wouldn't dare tell anyone how badly she wanted to sing with the worship team. The girl who literally made herself sick before pitching her book at her very first conference. The girl who rehearsed lessons so she didn't sound like a bumbling idiot in front of the youth group.

Please tell me it's not just me. ;)

I read about the bold apostles and disciples and I am green with jealousy. How do I get that? How do I, an uneducated, common person (See, I'm partway there!) get that boldness?

I've found a common denominator.

"In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him." Ephesians 3:12

It's that faith in God. It's putting our trust/our faith in God that makes us bold. It's the amazing revelation of what He's done for us!

My eye usually doesn't twitch anymore. That comes from putting more stock in what God wants to do, then what I want to do. When it doesn't matter what I want from the situation, it's much easier to be bold for God. Those twitch-free, bold moments are because I put all my faith and trust in God's will.

V. Joy Palmer