(2 Corinthians 10:10 TNIV) For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing."
If your confidence is in yourself then your boldness does not fade but if your confidence is in the Lord then you must learn how to listen, I mean really listen and that is hard to do when your mouth is open. While I do believe it is possible to grow in the Lord to the point that He empowers you and gives you a holy boldness so often that it becomes descriptive of who you are but most boldness I see today is from people’s abilities and their dependence on those abilities to take them where they want to go. Unfortunately, that takes them away from the place where the Lord’s voice is most easily heard, not to it.
As I become more mature I find myself striving to remain, throughout the day, the person I am in the morning. For in the morning I hear the Lord’s voice and I feel His presence as I read and study His Word and I share with Him my concerns with Him but as the day goes on I begin picking up weights and putting them in my satchel as I throw it over my shoulder. These weights of responsibility and concerns come at such a pace I rarely have time to ask my Lord what He thinks or listen for His reply. Sometimes so much so that my ability to hear becomes muffled, I imagine much like the sight of the blind man whom Jesus was healing and he told Jesus that men appear as trees walking around (Mark 8:24). So that’s when I slow down to listen closer. From the outside looking in I appear quiet and at times it must come across as lacking confidence and partly I do lack confidence, in my own abilities. That’s when I stop to listen and realize I can no longer hear God speaking. Usually at noon I walk and pray so that I will once again be mindful of Him throughout the remainder of the day but like Paul I am driven by something deep inside that many do not understand and if the Lord provides the opportunity for me to speak then I also know that He will also give me the boldness to speak it. So the things Paul speaks about in chapter ten are somewhat familiar and it blesses me as it reminds me I am not alone.
(Psalms 16:1-2 MSG) A David song. Keep me safe, O God, I've run for dear life to you. I say to GOD, "Be my Lord!" Without you, nothing makes sense.
(Psalms 16:11 MSG) Now you've got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since you took my hand, I'm on the right way.
