Do you know the secret of peace and joy? It is leaving all your anxieties and insecurities at the foot of the cross and banking your life on Almighty God.

Then you can dance in the front of fear.
Then you can sing in the presence of evil.
Then you can be confident when you’re out of your comfort zone.

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord
    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
(Jeremiah 17:7, NLT, emphasis added)

When we put our confidence in God, we are filled with peace and joy. But when we put our confidence in ourselves or others, we often experience stress, despair and disappointments. This should not be a difficult choice, right? Especially to those who already know God and his goodness.

We are partners with Christ, but only if we hold on to the confidence we had in the beginning until the end. (Hebrews 3:14, CEB)

Why then do we so often forget this and try to manage on our own? Aren’t we tried of beating our heads against the wall time after time? I am anyway. I am done with self-made plans and self-confidence. I am all for God’s plans and God-given confidence.

With the words of Martin Luther “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man would stake his life on it a thousand times. Such confidence and knowledge of God’s grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace.”

God-given confidence is based on trusting God as our heavenly Father. God-given confidence is about believing in God and his gifts in you. It’s about believing that God is always with you and is working in you and through you.

God-given confidence gives you courage to do what God asks you to do. God-given confidence does not inflate your ego but inflates your faith to the max. And then you are unstoppable. Because it is not about you but about Christ in you.

 

Dear God,
You are so good to me.
Thank you for
loving me,
redeeming me,
encouraging me,
readying me,
equipping me,
sending me,
always being with me.
Enable me to be all you created me to be.
Empower me to reach all you want to reach through me.
Thank you for having big plans for/in/through me.
Thank you for making them happen.
May I always be bold in and for you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: What does God-given confidence do in/through you?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you let God do amazing things in/through you!

Image courtesy of ochristian.com, design by Mari-Anna Stålnacke. Linking up today with Looking up, Sharing His Beauty, Small Wonders.