Confidence, Confidence

"For the Lord will be your confidence

    and will keep your foot from being caught." 

Proverbs 3:26

Admirable confidence is the blend of being kind, content, and determined. There are times in my life where I am one of these things or maybe two of them, but it is difficult to be all three without God.

The only times in my life where I am all three of these definitions is when I look to God for that strength- not myself. I know that His guidance will never fail me. So when I look to him, I know I will choose the right decisions by His direction. I know that I will be more willing to love others. I know that I will be content with what He has given me and not compare my blessings with what He has given others. 



Confidence is needed when...
   
 a. you're fearful
 b. you're doubtful or faithless
 c. you're self-demeaning
 d. you're not being challenged
 e. you're trying new things
 f. you're dealing with people
 g. you're relying on yourself

When I was in middle school and early high school, I definitely was not confident. Mostly because I was new and did not know anyone. I wasn't familiar with the flow of things. That age is just an awkward time for a lot of people... specifically girls and their over-bearing eyeliner. 

But once I knew who God was and how God made me, I became strong. I knew what I liked, I knew what I didn't, I knew my strengths, I knew my weaknesses, I knew what was right and wrong, I knew why my beliefs were important, and I didn't let peoples' opinions dictate my life. I knew what I stood for and I wasn't afraid to share it. I wasn't afraid of what people thought, but I was learning to appreciate them for their differences too. I knew I made mistakes and that it was okay to be imperfect. I also knew that God was still working in me (I didn't have it all figured out).

The confidence that was growing in me had nothing to do with the people I knew. Or the people that liked me. Or getting used to high school.   For all of those examples above..

I knew WHY all of these things stood true. THEN, I was confident. 

I knew why I was weak or strong. I knew why I liked or didn't like certain things. I knew why my beliefs were important. I knew why God loves me.

And now, petty things don't stand in my way. And I am independent from the emotional slavery that holds a lot of people back. 

We need to be filling our hearts and minds with His standards. That way, we know them and we know Him. As Paul says, we need to conduct ourselves as citizens of heaven (Phil1&3). Definitely one of my favorite ideas right now. It makes so much sense. I am not of this world. I was born in it, but I do not belong to it. So.. why act like it? 

Confidence is knowing who you are and not needing anyone's confirmation to be successful or satisfied. I am a citizen of Heaven, and I only need God's approval. However, confidence can turn into arrogance. And yes Christians, it is possible to be spiritually pompous. That's where it gets dangerous. Who's the glory going to?  Self reliance cannot be greater than reliance on God. Nor can praise. That sets you up for trouble.

Are you proud of your spiritual revelations?

Do you feel above others for your gifts (spiritual or natural)?

Are you complete by the praise you get from serving and giving?

Does your joy come from your excessive church involvement?

Even more obvious, are you thrilled by your name being known?

We all fall into these traps here and there. It is so like the devil to twist what is supposed to be good into something selfish. 

Remember:

"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, 

but our sufficiency is from God." 

2 Corinthians 3:5

Here's another place where it gets tricky... just look at that verse... "our sufficiency is from God"... Then you ask, "Are spiritual gifts not from God? Are serving opportunities not from God?" Well, they are... but are they God? No. We mix that up sometimes. Another sneaky play on words is when someone says, "Oh no, do not give me the credit"... but they know that internally they want it. Facades are very detectable from other people as well. Through everything you do, remember Who it is for, and remember Who has helped you. Be genuine. I've heard people say, "my biggest struggle is caring/serving too much". Maybe that would be a great answer in a job interview. But, let's not play that card anymore.  

"Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. 

Never be wise in your own sight." 

Romans 12:16

Confidence is not lasting when we view it as a result of our works or our ideas. The enemy can twist the confidence that God wants us to have in Him... into confidence in our achievements by Him. I consider myself to be very confident and I feel that this is something that God has had to work on in me, not something I achieved for myself. It also wasn't something that I became acclimated to solely based on growing up. But my confidence grew when I started understanding and chasing after what truly matters, and not letting what does not matter hinder me.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." 

James 1:17

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things"

Colossians 3:2

So who are you, and why?