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Have you ever felt like “confidence” is something you will never achieve? Maybe you have tried again and again to become the confident person you desire, but you fall short each time.  Maybe you secretly do not believe in yourself or feel like no one believes in you. I can relate.

One example is when I played sports in grade school (or should I say, I attended the games). Warming the bench was my usual “position”. Whenever the coach came to the bench to look for a sub, my heart raced in anticipation, but he picked someone else with me, almost without fail. I remember thinking that if my coach or teammates did not have confidence in me, I should not have confidence in myself. So I began to believe I would always be on the bench doubting I could ever be VALUED.

Experiences like what I just mentioned can cause us to doubt ourselves (lack confidence).  We doubt that we are good enough, strong enough, worthy enough…but those doubts are not from God; they are from our adversary the devil.  The enemy lies to us and causes us to lack confidence so we feel paralyzed and stuck.

I love how scripture speaks about confidence:

  • “For You are my hope; O Lord God, You aremy confidence from my youth.” (Psalm 71:5)
  • “For the Lordwill be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.” (Proverbs 3:26)
  • “In the fear of the Lordthere is strong confidence, and his children will have refuge.” (Proverbs 14:26)
  • “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.” (Isaiah 32:17)

Therefore, God is my confidence.

I want people to observe that I have confidence, not from myself, but because I have been with Jesus. I want other people to see me as they saw Peter and John after they had been with Jesus.

“Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)

I may lack confidence in a lot of ways but I can always have confidence in approaching God because I know He will always accept me as I am. I do not have to doubt that He VALUES me. I do not have to get my life together before approaching Him.  God says to come as we are.

My place is not on the bench, and neither is yours.  We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” (Hebrews 10:35-36)

So stand up! Dust off! Have confidence!

Prayer: God, help me see me as You see me. Valued. You are my confidence and I pray I will start living like it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.