Confidence

 

 

Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught. Proverbs 3:25-26

 

Not usually being one for cute sayings, today I was reminded of this one:

“If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.”

Many Christians seem sure of a call from God; lead a ministry, adopt a child, talk to someone, forgive a sin, etc. However, when it comes time to execute the plan they have no courage to see it through. Or, they do it while making sure everyone around them knows they are not worthy of the calling.

In the book of Thessalonians, after explaining that God has not destined them for wrath, but for salvation, Paul continues to instruct the believers to encourage one another and not to  repay evil with evil (1 Thessalonians 5:7-15).

Then he tells them to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, to give thanks in all circumstances, and not to quench the Spirit but to abstain from evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22)

All of these instructions are under the admonition of knowing the Lord was going to come like a thief in the night and they were to be ready as God’s children (1 Thessalonians 5:1-5).

He says to them,  “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it (Thessalonians 5:23-2 ESV).

When our confidence in not on the Lord’s power and wisdom, in other words, when we are relying on our strength and power to get a work done, we are going to face a crisis of confidence.

“He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it,” should speak volumes to our insecure moments when we are questioning our ability to do something we are sure God has called us to do.

Earlier in the chapter Paul had said to “Pray without ceasing.” A crisis of confidence is a moment to pray for the enabling, confidence in Christ, and the power of the Spirit in us to take over and help us complete the work. We can pray before we get there. We can pray “arrow prayers” straight to Him in the moment, we can ask others to be praying for us as we are working.

Prayer is a tool we can use to remind ourselves that we are not in things alone. It is a tool we can use to boost our confidence that indeed, “God has called me to it and He will bring me through it!”

“He is faithful and He will surely do it.”

Where is your confidence today? In yourself or in the Lord?

Another pithy saying that always rings true to me is this one:

“If God is your co-pilot, switch seats.” This is an act of confidence in the One True God.