Be Bold, Diligent, and Strong
Be Bold. Be Diligent. Be Strong.
I’ve been telling myself this for the last few days. Life is a battle. Words and truth are our weapons.
With wars and rumors of war, struggles and tension all around us, how are you faring? The last months have been hard. The last few weeks heart wrenching. How do we push on?
Personal Story
Our trip to Israel in June was interrupted by bombs from Iran. Once home, adjusting to what had just transpired was harder than I expected. In addition to that, I knew I needed to address my increasingly blurred vision.
Cataract surgery in August was supposed to give me back clear eyesight. But we don’t know what we don’t know. Until we do.
As it turns out, something called “normal tension glaucoma” is a thing, and evidently my left eye has it. I still don’t understand it. But I do understand the blurry spot I see.
Adapting to the change in my eyesight caused by the nerve damage and waiting for my brain to adapt to the new lenses in my eyes and the amount of light now coming in have been challenges I didn’t anticipate.
Along with the vision issues, fatigue hit hard. Maybe my body just had enough and wanted to rest. So, I did. A lot.
But enough is enough. And after chasing doctor visits needed to check out the glaucoma and fatigue, I decided it’s time to be well and move on.
OK, I know it doesn’t exactly work like that. I know we don’t always get to decide we’re well. But life is short, as evidenced in our world every day. And if I need other medical help, I’ll figure that out eventually. But in the meantime, I came up with a slogan to help me out.
Be bold. Be diligent. Be strong.
Why Bold, Diligent, and Strong?
When I mentioned these words to a friend, she told me she already sees me as bold. So, I explained.
This summer, there were days I didn’t want to get up and face another day of blurry vision. Struggling with the way my eyes saw and how they felt was tiring. I had to ask God to let me be bold enough to do another day.
The more I thought about it, sometimes it takes courage for all of us to face another day.
As for diligence, my sister came to help me in my office one day, and I realized how out of control my personal life is. Continuing to ignore matters that need to be attended to is unacceptable. I may feel weary, but I can’t rest all the time. I need to do the work that needs to be done, and rest when it’s time. I admit I have to motivate myself in that area. I have an accounting degree, but I hate dealing with financial matters. And putting stuff in order isn’t my strong suit nor do I enjoy it. But these are things needing to be done. So do it. Be diligent.
“Be strong” is a command I need because I choose to assume I’m healthy enough to keep going. Until the Lord takes me Home, I should keep on keeping on. For Him and with Him.
All three of these statements remind me to get up and spend another day being and doing what God has for me to be and do.
Scripture Encouragement to be Bold, Diligent, and Strong
Right now, my Wi-Fi is having issues, so I hope I get to post this sometime soon. I just ordered glasses this morning and hope they will help my eyesight when they’re ready in a couple of weeks. And there’s much to be put in order in my office while my energy still isn’t overflowing.
But God is faithful and good. Even my new three sentences are from Him to help me. How do I know? The Bible tells me so.
In Joshua 1:9, we read “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
“Be bold” is my way of saying be courageous. And I can be. Why? Because God is with me.
In 2 Timothy 2:15, we read, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
And in Romans12:10-11 we find, “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”
The King James Version writes Romans 12:11 as “not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.”
Slothful in the Greek is okneros (sounds bad, doesn’t it?!) It means tardy or indolent or irksome. Wow.
The last of my three sentences says, “Be strong.” How can I be strong when I don’t feel like it? Can I just decide to be strong?
Yes. I can rejoice in God my Savior. As it says in Nehemiah 8:10, “The joy of the LORD is your strength.”
And King David says in Psalm 28:7-8,
The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him , and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him. The LORD is their strength, And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Conclusion
Today, when the world seems to be careening off its axis, God’s word speaks to me, and I will choose His way. I will be bold. I will be diligent. And I will be strong.
Not because I am those things on my own. But because YHWH, the Creator of the universe, tells me I can be this way as I rest in Him. After all, the LORD is with me. And His joy is my strength.
One day at a time, with our eyes on Jesus, let’s keep going. Boldly, diligently serving Him, strong through His power and grace.
(Note: You may also be encouraged by another post, Sail On. God bless you as you go.)
(Scripture: New King James Version; Photo: Taken by Carolyn Thigpen, Tribble Mill Park, 9/30/25)
