“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.” Jeremiah 17:7
I want confidence. Do you?
Confidence doesn’t come from within me somewhere. It comes “in Him.” My confidence is in Jesus Christ. Amen to that!
I say amen, because I’ve tried digging up some confidence on my own. It seems the pit of my insecurity runs deep. I find myself battling the compulsion to control my circumstances in order to avoid risk and protect myself from failure.
The dictionary defines confidence as follows: “the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something.”
And I know I can rely on Jesus.
It’s also defined as “the state of being confident about the truth of something.”
And I know God’s truth has set me free. In fact, His truth continues to set me free on a daily basis.
His truth tells me who I am—a child of God. Forgiven. Redeemed. Equipped. Share on X
Confidence is also “the feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s appreciation of ones own abilities and qualities”—abilities given to us by God.
Sometimes I feel like there’s something stuck inside of me blocking the rising up of confidence. Do you feel it too?
Is it because I don’t appreciate my own abilities and qualities, comparing myself to others? Or is it because I fear appreciating them would look arrogant?
I’m pretty sure it’s a mixture.
This year, I want to rise above insecurity and my reluctance to move forward in confidence.
Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate servants of the new covenant. (2 Corinthians 3:4)
God has given each of us abilities and qualities that make us beautiful. Why are we so afraid to use them with bold confidence?
Confidence doesn’t come from our abilities, but from God who gives us the confidence to use them. Share on X
You know who else questioned their own capabilities when God wanted to use them for His glory?
Moses didn’t think he could communicate well enough but led the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt.
Joshua was reminded repeatedly by God to be strong and courageous. (Joshua 1:9)
Jeremiah told God he couldn’t speak well and was too young to be a prophet.
Elijah fled to the wilderness, filled with doubt about his calling and fearing for his life, until God encouraged him in a gentle whisper.
I am ready for anything, through Him who infuses inner strength into me. I am sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency. Philippians 4:13
God will equip you for anything He wants you to do! And He promises to be with you.
For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:13 NIV
Are you ready to allow God to work in you to will and act in order to fulfill His good purpose? What might that look like for you?
Confidence helps us remember that we are not responsible for the results—the results are up to God. All we have to do is follow and obey. Share on X
Praise God! I recently saw a quote on Instagram that basically said that if we are focused on the purpose God gives us, we won’t be consumed with comparison. (Wish I could remember who said it and what it was word for word!) But I thought it was so good! Because if we really allow God to show us how He views us and what He wants us to do, we can be so focused on doing that for His glory that we don’t have time to be insecure. We don’t have time to question the abilities we have or the way God made us. We can be totally free to be consumed by giving God the glory with ALL of our lives! Thanks so much for sharing! Such an important topic! 🙂
That’s so true Karissa! I love how you said that if we really believe God we would be so passionate about it that we wouldn’t even have time to be insecure. So good!
This is an awesome post Valerie!! Definitely spoke to my heart. I think sometimes fear pushes confidence back trying to keep us stagnant and ineffective but praise God we have the ability and strength through Christ to push right back.
Thanks for sharing. Blessings!
I love that we can push back in his strength Lureta. Have a blessed day.
Thanks so much Valerie!
Yes, we need more God-confidence! I think one reason why we are so afraid to rise up and embrace our calling from God is that we are taught to be humble and quiet, not seen. Being humble is good, but it doesn’t mean hiding ourselves. God wants us to be the best we can be so that His glory shines through us – we are to be a city on a hill. We can’t do that if we are hiding from the world. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post on Grace and Truth!
I agree! We want to be humble but have fear that in using our gifts for the Lord we will appear arrogant or prideful. The fear of man overtakes our willingness to be bold for the Lord.
I love your word for the year! It will be exciting to see how God grows His confidence in you as you journey forward! 🙂
Blessings to you!
Thank you Rachel!
Visiting from God-Sized Dreams. I think many of us struggle with confidence and when we try to muster it up on our own it does not happen. Learning to rely on the Lord is a life-long lesson. We have to keep looking for all the ways He has been faithful in order to increase our confidence in Him. It is a moment-by-moment choice to decide to rely on Him, to yield to His way, and trust in Him as He shows you His purposes throughout life. Great word! Sweet Blessings to you.
So true, Cheryl. Learning to rely on the Lord and have confidence in him is a life-long lesson. Thank you for commenting.
What a great word Valerie! I love the openness and honesty that you share. I’m so thankful for our Savior, Jesus Christ. He will empower us to accomplish His will, and knowing that we can have confidence. Praying for you as you seek to live confidently in Him in the New Year and beyond! Be well friend, and may God continue to bless you and your family.
Thank you, Horace. Blessings to you and your family too!
Amen, Valerie!
Can’t wait to hear you ROAR this year!
You go, Girl!!
Thanks, friend!
I love the confidence we have in Christ. The solid footing. Thanks for sharing this today.
Your welcome. He is our sure foundation, the solid rock!