Bible Minute Lesson 5

Freedom and Confidence

“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”  (Ephesians 3:12)

Let this one soak in, sisters. Freedom and confidence are rare commodities among us today. A short verse with lots of impact this week. You may want to read the surrounding verses to this and let them really sink in. As a matter of fact, I’ll give them to you as a warm up:

            “⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. ⁸ Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. ¹⁰ His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, ¹¹ according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. ¹³ I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.”

Last week we talked about timing and intensity in relationships. This week I’ve been struck with how I take the riches of my spiritual blessings for granted, and the words “freedom” and “confidence” encapsulate that exquisitely. The first 3 chapters of Ephesians contain abundant reminders of all that God has done for us to bring us into relationship with Him. In fact, Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus can be divided in half, with the first half explaining what God has done for us in Christ, and the second half explaining what our natural response to that will be if we fully grasp the significance of it all. 

Before we came into relationship with Christ, we were dead, separated from God, objects of wrath, foreigners and aliens, among other things. (And that’s just in chapter 2!) But because of God’s limitless love and mercy, He made a way for us to come into the Presence of God Almighty Himself to be reconciled and connected to the One who loves us and created us.

There’s lots of theology in these verses that one cup of coffee simply won’t cover. Maybe not even a pot. But what I want us to try to grasp this week is the concept communicated in verse 12. Let’s look at it again:

“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”

Look at this verse with the same sentiment in Hebrews.

“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)

Confidence is trust, faith in somebody or something, assurance of success. The opposite implies hesitancy, reticence, timidity, or shyness. I have yet to come across a place in Scripture that encourages us or commands us to be shy with God. In fact, Paul tells Timothy, his young pastor protégé, NOT to be timid because God gave us a spirit of power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). Be bold! Walk in with assurance of your position before God, not because of what you’ve done, but because of what God has done through Christ.

Through faith in Christ’s death and resurrection, we have become children of God (1 John 3). Intimate, familial, eternal relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of all life. He is huge and he is personal. He doesn’t just give love – He lavishes it. He doesn’t hold back and He wants to be known. And because of Jesus in our lives we have complete access to all that God has for us. And it is all good, but it is not all pleasant.

What does it mean to approach God, on His throne, with freedom and confidence? It implies a level of trust that, to be honest, I am only beginning to comprehend, even after almost three decades of seeking Him. I get that I can come with confidence that my sins are forgiven and that God loves me. That took years, but I think I get it. What I struggle with now is the idea that I need to have confidence in God’s plan and love for me to such a degree that I completely release my hold on my life to fully embrace His. Whoa. Freedom from the weight of my sin – yes! Freedom from the weight of my accomplishments, my agenda, my entitlement…wait a minute. Am I ready for that kind of trust? Am I even capable of it? According to this, we may approach Him with that confidence and freedom, but do we? What does that even look like? It may be saying to God, “I am sick of my dead marriage and don’t know what to do. I need you to show up here, Lord, and make some drastic changes if I’m going to stay married.” It may be, “I am completely overwhelmed with my job and I’m afraid that people will discover that I’m not really as competent as I pretend to be. I need to breathe, Lord, but that means coming clean with my insecurities, and I don’t know if I can.” I may need to say, “What if what I really, really want in the deepest part of me never comes into my life? Are you enough, Father? Can I trust you to create a rich and satisfying life for me?”

It’s a matter of approaching God with the confidence that He will hear us and that He cares about what matters to us and what hurts us. And there’s freedom to let go of what’s not working so we can embrace the One who will give us the desires of our hearts.

These are some points to ponder this week. Not much discussion, maybe, but plenty to contemplate. Here are some questions that might help get the process started:

• Can I approach God in confidence that my sins are forgiven? Are there any that need confessing so I can come in with freedom and confidence?

• To what level do I relate to the man in Mark who says to Jesus, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”?

• Is there any area of my life that I am not willing to risk being dangerously honest and raw with God about? (What am I afraid He’ll change or take away? Or am I afraid that nothing will change in an area where I’m particularly desperate?) 

I would encourage you, as you pray about these things this week, to come to God in a physical posture that reflects your process: outstretched arms, kneeling, open hands, clenched fists. Being real, inside and out, is crucial to the transformational process. And if you’re anything like me, just think, once we get this going on with God, He’s going to let us try it out on our other relationships! Are you ready?