"The wicked flee when no man pursueth but the righteous are bold as a lion." Prov. 28:1
I can identify with the first part of the verse easily. I am constantly battling fear and worry over things that don't even happen, or aren't even likely to happen. "What is that noise in my car--will I have to get a new one ---we can't afford that right now!" Or, "What if my girls hate me when they grow up ---how can I prevent that?" Dumb stuff.
The hurdle I have with this verse is on the "righteous" part. When will I be considered "righteous" enough to be truly confident? When can I say, "Ok, I am finally good enough to be bold? It seems that I am always looking at my level of behavior and skill and then shrinking back in fear because it's not good enough, not perfect enough to warrant the bold confidence I crave.
Performance driven confidence is seductive, we feel good about what we think we know or can do well, but it masks fear of being surpassed by someone else or we lose our abilities. Then there is the remaining fear of failure that concerns the areas we are not so hot.
I am convinced that the "righteousness" in the verse is not "doing good". It is RELATIONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS. We are in right standing because of Christ and our relationship with Him, nothing more.
There is a hint of this when you look at the Hebrew for the word "bold". The word, Batach, means:
" to hide for refuge; figuratively, to trust, be confident or sure:--be bold (confident, secure, sure), careless, put confidence, (make to) hope, (put, make to) trust.
Its more about Who you know than what you can do. Confidence comes in knowing the One who can do it all and knowing He cares for you, rather than strength, will power or skill.
So I would rewrite this verse: The self-confident flee when nothing pursues them, but the ones who know God loves them and trust Him to help are bold as a lion.
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