Boldly Awake: What It Really Takes to Step Into Unrestrained Boldness
In Acts 4, Peter and John were arrested for doing the very thing God called them to do: healing and preaching in the name of Jesus. And their response? They didn’t shrink back. They didn’t play small. They prayed for more boldness.
Let me say that again. After being arrested, they didn’t pray for safety. They didn’t pray for escape. They prayed for boldness.
Unrestrained boldness.
That word—bold—has been echoing in my spirit since March 28, 2023. I messaged our Victorious Women’s Retreat team that day and told them, “The Lord is blaring the phrase ‘Be Bold’ like a neon sign.” Usually our retreat themes for the next year come a year in advance. But this time was different. God gave it to us eighteen months in advance. That kind of urgency told me something was coming—something in the world, in the spiritual realm, that would require a new level of boldness from the Church.
And not just a boldness to be seen or heard. I’m talking about a holy boldness to walk in healing, to step out of comfort zones, and to shake the foundations of fear.
Boldly Awake Starts With Getting Honest
You can’t be bold if you’re sleepwalking through life.
And I don’t just mean physically. To walk in unrestrained boldness, you need to be spiritually, emotionally, and mentally awake. That means no more ignoring the hard things. No more walking around with your fingers in your ears pretending the pain doesn’t exist. No more building walls just so you can survive.
Being boldly awake means you’re willing to confront what hurts. You’re willing to step into healing, even when it’s uncomfortable. And yes, it takes boldness to get healed.
It Takes Boldness to Get Healed
Matthew 9 tells the story of a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. According to the laws of her time, she was unclean. She wasn’t supposed to be in crowds, let alone touching anyone. But she was desperate. She had one shot, and she knew it. So with unrestrained boldness, she reached out and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment.
And she was healed.
If we want that kind of healing—emotional, spiritual, physical—we’re going to have to push through the crowds of fear, the noise of shame, and the walls we’ve built to “protect” ourselves. Healing rarely comes without confrontation. But don’t park in your pain. Yes, it’s real. Yes, it hurts. But the valley was never meant to be your home.
The Bible says we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Not build a tent and throw a pity party there.
I’m the Most Healed Version of Me
I’m 46 years old, and I can confidently say I’m the most healed version of myself I’ve ever been. And it didn’t happen overnight. Healing took time. It took work. It took me facing some things I didn’t want to. But it was so worth it.
Today, I sing with a boldness I didn’t have when I was younger, because fear used to silence my voice. I travel to places like Zambia, answering calls I used to think were for someone else. And yes, even when I preach—I still feel fear sometimes. But I do it anyway.
That’s boldness.
Not the absence of fear—but the willingness to rise up in the presence of it.
Notice I mentioned that I am the most healed version of myself I have ever known? I didn’t say I am completely healed. That is because I don’t know that any of us know if we are completely healed emotionally until something bubbles up from the depths of the hidden places in us. Boldness is applied when we also say, you know what, I have more healing that needs to happen…and I am willing to go through the process to become even more healed.
So What Does It Look Like to Stay Boldly Awake?
Here’s what I know: boldness isn’t just for the platform. It’s not just for the retreat. Boldness is needed in the school pickup line, in the Zoom meeting, in the hard family conversation you’ve been avoiding.
Being boldly awake means you show up to your life on purpose. Not numbed out. Not buried under shame. But present, even when it’s hard.
Sometimes, that boldness looks like singing again.
Sometimes, it looks like setting a boundary.
Sometimes, it looks like admitting you’re not okay.
And sometimes—it looks like forgiving someone who never said sorry.
We don’t get to choose the battles life throws at us, but we do get to choose how we walk through them. We can hide. Or we can rise.
I want to be like Peter and John. I want to live with the kind of boldness that makes the walls shake, that makes the fear flee, and that gives God room to move.
So I’ll ask you the same question I asked myself:
What is it going to take for you to walk out your life in unrestrained boldness?
Because the world needs your voice. Not to make more noise. But to bring healing. Hope. Light. Truth.
And if it takes some healing to get there? Then it’s time to get healed.
Are you ready?
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