Walking with Dignity
Proverbs 30:29-31
Many people struggle with bad posture, like chronic slouching, due to a variety of factors. These include bad desk setup, frequently looking down at a phone, unhelpful shoes, favoring one side of the body, lack of exercise, and staying still too long. Bad posture may also be caused by chronic pain, weight challenges, and joint problems.
Health and medical experts tell us that good posture matters as it fosters better breathing habits, less physical pain, and optimal blood circulation. Perhaps you’ve heard the advice, “Lift with your legs, not with your back.” Following this advice when lifting heavy things can make the difference between getting or recovering from a serious spine injury or not.
Good posture also matters for social reasons, because good posture communicates confidence and seriousness, which in turn encourages people to treat you with respect and enables you to speak more effectively. It can even affect whether or not you have a successful job interview, receive a promotion, or get a date with a serious person.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, advice for good posture includes keeping your head above your shoulders, your shoulders above your hips, and your lower body in a stable position. Remarkably, in Prov 30:29-31, Agur reflects on the value of posture and poise.
Posture refers to a person’s physical position. A person can have good or bad posture, sitting or standing in a healthy position or sitting or standing in an unhealthy position.
Poise is similar but emphasizes good posture, and not just good posture, but a good attitude and demeanor. It refers to someone whose posture projects confidence, peacefulness, and grace. A ballet dancer exhibits poise, and so does a gymnast, or a soldier in a military march, or a graduate who approaches the commencement podium to give a valedictorian’s keynote speech.
Agur thought about posture and poise by observing the behavior of three animals and one person. To him, this person and three animals were good examples of poise, and thinking about them reminds us that it is important to walk with dignity and confidence.
As we reflect on this proverb today, we should ask ourselves some questions. How do I respond to people who exhibit confidence in their demeanor, posture, and stride? Also, does my demeanor and posture exhibit confidence or insecurity? If insecurity, is that an accurate reflection of your true heart condition and how can your confidence improve?
We admire the poise of confident animals.
As Agur reminds us, it is important to walk with dignity and confidence in our lives. We know this by how we feel when we see animals behaving and walking with confidence in the natural world. Consider the three examples that Agur gives us.
“A lion which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any.”
Agur first mentions a lion, which is probably one of the first – if not the first – animal which comes to mind when you’re asked to mention a confident, powerful animal. That seems to be what Agur is doing here. He highlights how an lion is stronger and more powerful than other land animals. He also highlights how its exceptional strength emboldens it to hunt down or stand its ground against any other animal which may come its way.
We are familiar with how a lion walks, with steady, deliberate steps and muscular strides. It’s impressive to see in a nature documentary, and even more so in person. I’ve seen lions walking around in zoos (Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Bronx, and Omaha – to name a few). I’ve also observed them up close both in an enclosed lion park and also on the open range in Kruger National Park, both in South Africa.
Lions are considered an “apex predator,” which means they are at the top level of their animal ecosystem and have no natural predators which hunt them for food, and they hunt other large animals which many other animals would not attempt to do. By the calm, confident, observant way a lion walks, it seems they know their top-tier status.
“A greyhound”
This animal, unlike the lion, is not an easy Hebrew word to translate. It can mean various things, from rooster, to greyhound, to hunting dog, to warhorse. Whichever it may refer to, the root meaning seems to have something to do with being “girded up.”
Whether that’s how a horse is saddled up for battle, a rooster sucks in its stomach to crow and prance around, a greyhound postures itself for running fast, or a hunting dog postures itself to track down an animal, this word describes an animal that is confident and prepared for action – whether that action is battle, a race, or defending the henhouse.
So, from these first two animals, we see that their poise reflects confidence that comes from strength (the lion) and confidence that comes from being prepared (a rooster, greyhound, or warhorse.) Agur adds one more animal to his meditation on poise.
“A male goat, also.”
This refers to a buck goat, which is a fully mature male goat, or else a billy goat, which is a younger but mature male goat. Agur envisions a mature male goat who takes responsibility for a heard of goats, which include younger males, females, and children.
If mature, such a goat has both experience and strength to give him confidence. If young, such a goad has enthusiasm and energy to replace the wisdom that he lacks. But in either case, this male goat takes responsibility for the herd. He does this because he knows it is his responsibility to do so.
The younger billy goat knows this is his destiny and aspires to take charge, while the older goat knows it is his responsibility and, in fact, is often the breeding goat for the female goats and is therefore the father of many if not all of the younger goats in the heard.
As the alpha goat, this goat stands tall, alert, and ready while the rest of the flock grazes, rests, and plays in the field beside him. As Max Anders explains:
“The he-goat at the head of a flock of goats puts on an aggressive front intended to show any rivals that he is in charge.”
This kind of goat stands tall as he stands watch, alert and attentive to the landscape around him, walking steady and tall, ready to charge, intimidate, or fight off any other male goats or predators which may try to threaten them. In cases of a threat, he may even engage in an impressive head-butting display to drive the threat away.
From these three animals Agur mentions, we see how being confident, being prepared, and being responsible has a direct link to how we walk, determining whether we carry ourselves in an insecure, hesitant manner or with calm confidence and poise.
We also admire the poise of confident people.
Agur makes this connection in his next, fourth observation by shifting his focus to a person who walks with confidence and poise – and in this case, not just any person, but a specific kind of person in a specific situation.
“And a king whose troops are with him.”
Agur draws attention to a king. This is the word for king or ruler and refers to a powerful person who holds a position of government and/or military authority and responsibility.
But Agur draws attention not only to this kind of person but to this kind of person in a specific situation, “whose troops are with him.” This phrase may be more directly translated as, “against whom there is no rising up.”
This seems to describe a king who is firmly established in his position – one who has the full backing of his military generals and armies and who has no serious threats to the throne. It describes a king who has the support of his military and the favor of the people he governs. Such a man walks with confidence and poise. He is confident in what he does, prepared for whatever he may need to do, and takes responsibility for defending and providing for his people.
History provides us with examples of both insecure and confident kings. King Saul, for instance, was an insecure king who hid when he was being chosen, hesitated to make hard decisions, and lived in a constant state of anxiety, depression, and fear. When the future King David arrived on the scene, Saul was hiding in his tent as the giant Goliath threatened his people, but David marched out to fight Goliath with confidence.
An insecure king walks as though every person is a threat; a confident king walks as one who knows his place, accepts his responsibility, and rests in the strength behind him. Such a leader inspires confidence in the people he leads, but an insecure king does not. A weak and insecure king encourages uncertainty and revolution, instead.
J.R. Tolkien tells the fictional story of Theoden, King of Rohan, once known in his younger years for his bravery, horsemanship, and leadership. As years wore on, he became an increasingly insecure person who was disconnected from his people and unable to defend his people from the enemies who sacked their towns and waged war against them.
Agur envisions the kind of brave, courageous king that the Theoden had once been, not the weak, insecure ruler he eventually became. He envisions the kind of king who walks with confidence, dignity, and poise because he is confident, prepared, and takes responsibility for his role of caring for and protecting his people.
We should not confuse arrogance with confidence.
As we reflect on Agur’s observations about poise, we should take a moment to distinguish between arrogance and confidence. Arrogance is when a person walks with confidence but for the wrong reasons. This is a person who thinks too highly of themselves and who claims positions and privileges which do not rightfully belong to them.
When an arrogant person walks with confidence, we may call them cocky, conceited, presumptuous, and smug. When athletes or politicians behave this way – or anyone for that matter – behaves this way, we generally find such people unattractive.
But today, I would like to draw your attention to another, more subtle but equally, if not more, harmful problem. This problem is when people, or society, wrongly confuse confidence as arrogance. To illustrate this problem, I will give you two examples of how we experience this today: (1) when we promote passive, weak men as role models and (2) when we believe that sharing Christian beliefs confidently is unloving and rude.
First, when we promote passive, weak men as role models, we discourage men from taking responsibility, taking risks, and leading. When we do this, we encourage men to say yes and never no, to appease people and never offend them, and to carry themselves in a hesitant, cautious, apologetic way.
We do this whenever we confuse humility with passivity, gentleness with weakness, and conviction with arrogance. When that happens, men learn to shrink back rather than step forward, to appease rather than lead, to avoid responsibility rather than embrace it.
When men, young or old, take risks for right reasons, attempt to do hard things with wisdom, and try to say hard things with courage, rather than surround them with criticism, we should surround them with encouragement and support. A king walks with confidence when his troops surround him in support, but not when they surround him in defiance.
Second, when we believe that sharing Christian beliefs confidently is unloving and rude, we confuse confidence with arrogance. This happens when we believe that being “nice” is the greatest virtue. This happens when we believe that “to not speak the truth” is love rather than choosing to “speak the truth in love” even if doing so makes enemies.
Speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ (Eph 4:15)
Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? (Gal 4:16)
While being rude and obnoxious is unloving, choosing to be “nice” over speaking the truth when truth is needed is equally unloving, if not more so. We live not only in a community but in a country where people increasingly perceive anyone who speaks with conviction about moral principles from a biblical, godly perspective is considered intolerant and prejudiced. And where people believe that being dogmatic is being proud and unloving.
As followers of Christ, we must recover our confidence, embrace our conviction, and remind one another that it is not arrogant or rude to walk with dignity and poise, to speak the truth, and to do what is right.
In 1961, President Kennedy gave a speech that included the famous line, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” This quote did not originate with him but from a Baptist pastor, Charles Frederic Aked, who was born in England and eventually moved to America, mid-1800s into early 1900s. The full quote is as follows:
“The people in the liquor traffic,” said the speaker, “simply want us to do nothing. That’s all the devil wants of the son of God—to be let alone. That is all that the criminal wants of the law—to be let alone. The sin of doing nothing is the deadliest of all the seven sins. It has been said that for evil men to accomplish their purpose it is only necessary that good men should do nothing.”
Today, as much as ever, if not more, we need followers of Christ to walk with confidence and poise, ready to speak and act for biblical, godly values and for the gospel message itself, even when doing so is considered by the majority to be arrogant, intolerant, and mean – even though it is not.
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. (Rom 1:16)
From this, we see that it is important to walk with confidence and poise as followers of Christ, and that as believers in him, we should walk with confidence – in the Lord.
We should walk with confidence – in the Lord.
From the OT to the New, Scripture gives clear examples of God encouraging his people to follow him, serve him, and lead with confidence and courage. To Joshua, God said:
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. (Josh 1:9)
And to believers in the church at Ephesus and today, he said:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. (Eph 6:10)
Then he goes on to say:
Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Eph 6:13)
We are living in an “evil day,” but we should not hesitate to stand and walk with confidence in the Lord. That is why Christ left us with these confidence-boosting words:
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Mt 28:18-20)
Christ gives us the responsibility about which we must be confident, for which we must be prepared, and for which we must take responsibility. That is teaching people the truth about Jesus and calling them to be baptized (which itself takes confidence and courage).
But notice two things here. First, we do these things with Christ’s own authority, and he promises that he himself will be with us as we do this for him. Does this remind you, at all, of the king who walks with confidence because his troops are with him?
In 2 Kgs 6:8-23, Elisha the prophet served Israel for God during a period in which the Syrian were bullying and raiding Israel. He did this by repeatedly warning Israel’s king of when and where the Syrians were going to attack. By doing this, the Israelites were able to thwart each attack before they happened.
So, the king of Syria sent a large army to capture him in Dothan. When Elisha’s servant saw the Syrian forces surrounding the city by the thousands (called a “great army,” 2 Kgs 6:14), he was terrified, but Elisha reassured him:
“Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
After this, God opened the servant’s eyes so he could see an army of uncountable heavenly horses and chariots of fire in the mountains surrounding them, assuring him that no matter how large and threatening Syria’s armies might be outside the city, God’s heavenly armies were greater.
The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him and delivers them. (Psa 34:7)
For us today, though, we should not only be inspired to walk with confidence because God’s heavenly troops are with us but because our King himself is with us. The angel of the Lord himself surrounds us and Jesus Christ, who is the angel of the Lord, is with us when we speak and act towards others for the spread of the gospel, helping people take their next steps in following him, even when doing so is considered arrogant, intolerant, unloving and not nice.
As followers of Christ, we should walk with dignity and poise, speaking and living with calm confidence and courage and not be insecure about it. This is our mission.
Remember Theoden, King of Rohan, who I mentioned earlier? Though he had become a weak, insecure, and disconnected leader, he was restored to confidence and courage in the end and led his people to a final, difficult, but victorious battle – the infamous fictional battle of Helm’s Deep. In his eulogy, it was said:
“He was a gentle heart and a great king and kept his oaths; and he rose out of the shadows to a last fair morning.”
Today, if you find yourself living in the shadows of passivity, weakness, insecurity, and fear – perhaps under the banner of being nice – let me encourage you to rise out of the shadows to be part of a bright, fair morning.
May you be like a lion who is confident, a greyhound who is prepared, like a goat who takes responsibility, and like a king whose troops support and surround him. You may still walk with calm, confident, courage that comes from Christ, knowing that our King is with you. And may we encourage and support those who walk with confidence among us, even when our culture does the opposite.
Walk with dignity, stand with confidence, speak with conviction, for Christ is with you. Let that change how you walk into every room, face every moment, and speak to every person.
Many people struggle with bad posture, like chronic slouching, due to a variety of factors. These include bad desk setup, frequently looking down at a phone, unhelpful shoes, favoring one side of the body, lack of exercise, and staying still too long. Bad posture may also be caused by chronic pain, weight challenges, and joint problems.
Health and medical experts tell us that good posture matters as it fosters better breathing habits, less physical pain, and optimal blood circulation. Perhaps you’ve heard the advice, “Lift with your legs, not with your back.” Following this advice when lifting heavy things can make the difference between getting or recovering from a serious spine injury or not.
Good posture also matters for social reasons, because good posture communicates confidence and seriousness, which in turn encourages people to treat you with respect and enables you to speak more effectively. It can even affect whether or not you have a successful job interview, receive a promotion, or get a date with a serious person.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, advice for good posture includes keeping your head above your shoulders, your shoulders above your hips, and your lower body in a stable position. Remarkably, in Prov 30:29-31, Agur reflects on the value of posture and poise.
Posture refers to a person’s physical position. A person can have good or bad posture, sitting or standing in a healthy position or sitting or standing in an unhealthy position.
Poise is similar but emphasizes good posture, and not just good posture, but a good attitude and demeanor. It refers to someone whose posture projects confidence, peacefulness, and grace. A ballet dancer exhibits poise, and so does a gymnast, or a soldier in a military march, or a graduate who approaches the commencement podium to give a valedictorian’s keynote speech.
Agur thought about posture and poise by observing the behavior of three animals and one person. To him, this person and three animals were good examples of poise, and thinking about them reminds us that it is important to walk with dignity and confidence.
As we reflect on this proverb today, we should ask ourselves some questions. How do I respond to people who exhibit confidence in their demeanor, posture, and stride? Also, does my demeanor and posture exhibit confidence or insecurity? If insecurity, is that an accurate reflection of your true heart condition and how can your confidence improve?
We admire the poise of confident animals.
As Agur reminds us, it is important to walk with dignity and confidence in our lives. We know this by how we feel when we see animals behaving and walking with confidence in the natural world. Consider the three examples that Agur gives us.
“A lion which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any.”
Agur first mentions a lion, which is probably one of the first – if not the first – animal which comes to mind when you’re asked to mention a confident, powerful animal. That seems to be what Agur is doing here. He highlights how an lion is stronger and more powerful than other land animals. He also highlights how its exceptional strength emboldens it to hunt down or stand its ground against any other animal which may come its way.
We are familiar with how a lion walks, with steady, deliberate steps and muscular strides. It’s impressive to see in a nature documentary, and even more so in person. I’ve seen lions walking around in zoos (Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Bronx, and Omaha – to name a few). I’ve also observed them up close both in an enclosed lion park and also on the open range in Kruger National Park, both in South Africa.
Lions are considered an “apex predator,” which means they are at the top level of their animal ecosystem and have no natural predators which hunt them for food, and they hunt other large animals which many other animals would not attempt to do. By the calm, confident, observant way a lion walks, it seems they know their top-tier status.
“A greyhound”
This animal, unlike the lion, is not an easy Hebrew word to translate. It can mean various things, from rooster, to greyhound, to hunting dog, to warhorse. Whichever it may refer to, the root meaning seems to have something to do with being “girded up.”
Whether that’s how a horse is saddled up for battle, a rooster sucks in its stomach to crow and prance around, a greyhound postures itself for running fast, or a hunting dog postures itself to track down an animal, this word describes an animal that is confident and prepared for action – whether that action is battle, a race, or defending the henhouse.
So, from these first two animals, we see that their poise reflects confidence that comes from strength (the lion) and confidence that comes from being prepared (a rooster, greyhound, or warhorse.) Agur adds one more animal to his meditation on poise.
“A male goat, also.”
This refers to a buck goat, which is a fully mature male goat, or else a billy goat, which is a younger but mature male goat. Agur envisions a mature male goat who takes responsibility for a heard of goats, which include younger males, females, and children.
If mature, such a goat has both experience and strength to give him confidence. If young, such a goad has enthusiasm and energy to replace the wisdom that he lacks. But in either case, this male goat takes responsibility for the herd. He does this because he knows it is his responsibility to do so.
The younger billy goat knows this is his destiny and aspires to take charge, while the older goat knows it is his responsibility and, in fact, is often the breeding goat for the female goats and is therefore the father of many if not all of the younger goats in the heard.
As the alpha goat, this goat stands tall, alert, and ready while the rest of the flock grazes, rests, and plays in the field beside him. As Max Anders explains:
“The he-goat at the head of a flock of goats puts on an aggressive front intended to show any rivals that he is in charge.”
This kind of goat stands tall as he stands watch, alert and attentive to the landscape around him, walking steady and tall, ready to charge, intimidate, or fight off any other male goats or predators which may try to threaten them. In cases of a threat, he may even engage in an impressive head-butting display to drive the threat away.
From these three animals Agur mentions, we see how being confident, being prepared, and being responsible has a direct link to how we walk, determining whether we carry ourselves in an insecure, hesitant manner or with calm confidence and poise.
We also admire the poise of confident people.
Agur makes this connection in his next, fourth observation by shifting his focus to a person who walks with confidence and poise – and in this case, not just any person, but a specific kind of person in a specific situation.
“And a king whose troops are with him.”
Agur draws attention to a king. This is the word for king or ruler and refers to a powerful person who holds a position of government and/or military authority and responsibility.
But Agur draws attention not only to this kind of person but to this kind of person in a specific situation, “whose troops are with him.” This phrase may be more directly translated as, “against whom there is no rising up.”
This seems to describe a king who is firmly established in his position – one who has the full backing of his military generals and armies and who has no serious threats to the throne. It describes a king who has the support of his military and the favor of the people he governs. Such a man walks with confidence and poise. He is confident in what he does, prepared for whatever he may need to do, and takes responsibility for defending and providing for his people.
History provides us with examples of both insecure and confident kings. King Saul, for instance, was an insecure king who hid when he was being chosen, hesitated to make hard decisions, and lived in a constant state of anxiety, depression, and fear. When the future King David arrived on the scene, Saul was hiding in his tent as the giant Goliath threatened his people, but David marched out to fight Goliath with confidence.
An insecure king walks as though every person is a threat; a confident king walks as one who knows his place, accepts his responsibility, and rests in the strength behind him. Such a leader inspires confidence in the people he leads, but an insecure king does not. A weak and insecure king encourages uncertainty and revolution, instead.
J.R. Tolkien tells the fictional story of Theoden, King of Rohan, once known in his younger years for his bravery, horsemanship, and leadership. As years wore on, he became an increasingly insecure person who was disconnected from his people and unable to defend his people from the enemies who sacked their towns and waged war against them.
Agur envisions the kind of brave, courageous king that the Theoden had once been, not the weak, insecure ruler he eventually became. He envisions the kind of king who walks with confidence, dignity, and poise because he is confident, prepared, and takes responsibility for his role of caring for and protecting his people.
We should not confuse arrogance with confidence.
As we reflect on Agur’s observations about poise, we should take a moment to distinguish between arrogance and confidence. Arrogance is when a person walks with confidence but for the wrong reasons. This is a person who thinks too highly of themselves and who claims positions and privileges which do not rightfully belong to them.
When an arrogant person walks with confidence, we may call them cocky, conceited, presumptuous, and smug. When athletes or politicians behave this way – or anyone for that matter – behaves this way, we generally find such people unattractive.
But today, I would like to draw your attention to another, more subtle but equally, if not more, harmful problem. This problem is when people, or society, wrongly confuse confidence as arrogance. To illustrate this problem, I will give you two examples of how we experience this today: (1) when we promote passive, weak men as role models and (2) when we believe that sharing Christian beliefs confidently is unloving and rude.
First, when we promote passive, weak men as role models, we discourage men from taking responsibility, taking risks, and leading. When we do this, we encourage men to say yes and never no, to appease people and never offend them, and to carry themselves in a hesitant, cautious, apologetic way.
We do this whenever we confuse humility with passivity, gentleness with weakness, and conviction with arrogance. When that happens, men learn to shrink back rather than step forward, to appease rather than lead, to avoid responsibility rather than embrace it.
When men, young or old, take risks for right reasons, attempt to do hard things with wisdom, and try to say hard things with courage, rather than surround them with criticism, we should surround them with encouragement and support. A king walks with confidence when his troops surround him in support, but not when they surround him in defiance.
Second, when we believe that sharing Christian beliefs confidently is unloving and rude, we confuse confidence with arrogance. This happens when we believe that being “nice” is the greatest virtue. This happens when we believe that “to not speak the truth” is love rather than choosing to “speak the truth in love” even if doing so makes enemies.
Speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ (Eph 4:15)
Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? (Gal 4:16)
While being rude and obnoxious is unloving, choosing to be “nice” over speaking the truth when truth is needed is equally unloving, if not more so. We live not only in a community but in a country where people increasingly perceive anyone who speaks with conviction about moral principles from a biblical, godly perspective is considered intolerant and prejudiced. And where people believe that being dogmatic is being proud and unloving.
As followers of Christ, we must recover our confidence, embrace our conviction, and remind one another that it is not arrogant or rude to walk with dignity and poise, to speak the truth, and to do what is right.
In 1961, President Kennedy gave a speech that included the famous line, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” This quote did not originate with him but from a Baptist pastor, Charles Frederic Aked, who was born in England and eventually moved to America, mid-1800s into early 1900s. The full quote is as follows:
“The people in the liquor traffic,” said the speaker, “simply want us to do nothing. That’s all the devil wants of the son of God—to be let alone. That is all that the criminal wants of the law—to be let alone. The sin of doing nothing is the deadliest of all the seven sins. It has been said that for evil men to accomplish their purpose it is only necessary that good men should do nothing.”
Today, as much as ever, if not more, we need followers of Christ to walk with confidence and poise, ready to speak and act for biblical, godly values and for the gospel message itself, even when doing so is considered by the majority to be arrogant, intolerant, and mean – even though it is not.
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. (Rom 1:16)
From this, we see that it is important to walk with confidence and poise as followers of Christ, and that as believers in him, we should walk with confidence – in the Lord.
We should walk with confidence – in the Lord.
From the OT to the New, Scripture gives clear examples of God encouraging his people to follow him, serve him, and lead with confidence and courage. To Joshua, God said:
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. (Josh 1:9)
And to believers in the church at Ephesus and today, he said:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. (Eph 6:10)
Then he goes on to say:
Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Eph 6:13)
We are living in an “evil day,” but we should not hesitate to stand and walk with confidence in the Lord. That is why Christ left us with these confidence-boosting words:
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Mt 28:18-20)
Christ gives us the responsibility about which we must be confident, for which we must be prepared, and for which we must take responsibility. That is teaching people the truth about Jesus and calling them to be baptized (which itself takes confidence and courage).
But notice two things here. First, we do these things with Christ’s own authority, and he promises that he himself will be with us as we do this for him. Does this remind you, at all, of the king who walks with confidence because his troops are with him?
In 2 Kgs 6:8-23, Elisha the prophet served Israel for God during a period in which the Syrian were bullying and raiding Israel. He did this by repeatedly warning Israel’s king of when and where the Syrians were going to attack. By doing this, the Israelites were able to thwart each attack before they happened.
So, the king of Syria sent a large army to capture him in Dothan. When Elisha’s servant saw the Syrian forces surrounding the city by the thousands (called a “great army,” 2 Kgs 6:14), he was terrified, but Elisha reassured him:
“Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
After this, God opened the servant’s eyes so he could see an army of uncountable heavenly horses and chariots of fire in the mountains surrounding them, assuring him that no matter how large and threatening Syria’s armies might be outside the city, God’s heavenly armies were greater.
The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him and delivers them. (Psa 34:7)
For us today, though, we should not only be inspired to walk with confidence because God’s heavenly troops are with us but because our King himself is with us. The angel of the Lord himself surrounds us and Jesus Christ, who is the angel of the Lord, is with us when we speak and act towards others for the spread of the gospel, helping people take their next steps in following him, even when doing so is considered arrogant, intolerant, unloving and not nice.
As followers of Christ, we should walk with dignity and poise, speaking and living with calm confidence and courage and not be insecure about it. This is our mission.
Remember Theoden, King of Rohan, who I mentioned earlier? Though he had become a weak, insecure, and disconnected leader, he was restored to confidence and courage in the end and led his people to a final, difficult, but victorious battle – the infamous fictional battle of Helm’s Deep. In his eulogy, it was said:
“He was a gentle heart and a great king and kept his oaths; and he rose out of the shadows to a last fair morning.”
Today, if you find yourself living in the shadows of passivity, weakness, insecurity, and fear – perhaps under the banner of being nice – let me encourage you to rise out of the shadows to be part of a bright, fair morning.
May you be like a lion who is confident, a greyhound who is prepared, like a goat who takes responsibility, and like a king whose troops support and surround him. You may still walk with calm, confident, courage that comes from Christ, knowing that our King is with you. And may we encourage and support those who walk with confidence among us, even when our culture does the opposite.
Walk with dignity, stand with confidence, speak with conviction, for Christ is with you. Let that change how you walk into every room, face every moment, and speak to every person.
Posted in Sermon Manuscript
Posted in Proverbs, Wisdom, Wisdom in Plain Sight, Dignity, Confidence, Courage, Conviction, Leadership
Posted in Proverbs, Wisdom, Wisdom in Plain Sight, Dignity, Confidence, Courage, Conviction, Leadership
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