Boldly Going Where Faith Filled Believers Have Gone Before Us

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)

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. Hebrews 4:16 (Amplified)

This verse says a lot to me, to us, as Christians who have been accepted, sanctified and strive live by the Word of God. It says that God did not go through all the trouble, make the greatest sacrifice in the history of mankind for us to live timidly. He gave His son, making a pathway to himself so that we would come boldly, confidently and fearlessly to Him.

I have included three different translations of this particular verse so that there would be no misunderstanding. Scholars agree on not only the wording, but the thought and feeling behind it. Each of these submissions represent different schools of thought and approaches to translating the Holy Scriptures from the original Greek of the New Testament. There is a broad range of ideals as to how this interpretation is accomplished and essentially there are those that go for the 'word for word' approach meaning they try to use the closest exact word when interpreting the text. The other end of the spectrum is 'thought for thought'. In these translations they try to convey the thought and feel of the text by using the best language and word choice that would represent it in today's society. Then there are those that are in the middle. They attempt to achieve a good blend of the two approaches by finding the closest exact wording to communicate the meaning as accurately as possible.

The New Living Translation is a 'thought for thought', the Amplified is a 'word for word' and the New International version is the middle of the road. However, in all of these, and this is why I wanted to include a selection of translations, it is clearly illustrated that we are not to approach God with fear or timidity. He expects us to come to Him boldly and with confidence. He gave us an awesome gift in his Son. He made the ultimate sacrifice in love, hoping that we would accept it and come to Him. He offers us His endless mercy and grace, my friends. He wants us to be willing to accept His help. He desires us to draw near to Him so He can draw nearer to us. It does not say we might receive mercy and grace, but that we will not only find it, we will receive it. Let's go boldly where faith filled believers have gone before us and take hold of this promise secured by God's character: His love, His mercy and His grace are abundant and available to each of us through prayer.

Thank you God for loving me and making a way for me to come to you with my concerns. You paved the pathway to you in the blood of your Son. I will not dishonor Him by being timid and afraid. I will come to you in confidence and allow you to work in my life. I praise you today God and I trust your will for my life.

May each of you dig deep today mustering up and grasping tightly the boldness and confidence Christ died for you to have!