“For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.” Psalm 18:29

Confidence

Growing up, I struggled greatly with peer pressure and self-confidence issues. Actually, I still do, but have masked it with my roles in life. An example is my job: I usually sailed through because I normally was good at what I did and had the praise of others.

This isn’t the confidence God calls us to. He calls us to a quiet trust or confidence in who Christ is and to who we are in Christ. “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7).

This godly confidence is driven by faith—the faith we had when we first believed and He met us with His grace, to have confident faith even more. “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great. You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip” (Psalm 18:35-36).

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). This inner strength is His gift to us in whatever He calls us to—in our daily tasks, in sharing His Word with a hurting or needy friend, or in ministry opportunities He allows us to be a part of. The Holy Spirit is inside of us waiting to share truth or enable us to act it out. We can be confident to be exactly who He created us to be, regardless of others’ opinions.

We also can pray in confidence when we pray according to His will. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15). How do we know we’re praying according to His will? If it lines up with the Bible; or better yet, we can pray scripture. King David poured out His heart in the Psalms, and we can use these same heartfelt words as we pray in confidence to our God.

We are to have our confidence solely in the Lord and have no confidence in the flesh (Philippians 3:3 and Romans 8:1-11). Any confidence that stems from any other source (such as our wardrobe, friends or family, past victories and/or self-pride) is an empty, limited source. He is our true source. Daily He renews us through His Word and prayer for fresh faith to meet us exactly where we are. He is our strength and our song!

Lord God, we rest in Your equipping to fill us daily to accomplish whatever You call us to do. We can be confident that You make the mundane an adventure, or that we will have strength for the overwhelming. We praise You for how You have created each one of us individually to pursue Christ glorified in us.