There are some things we know we are really good at while others present more of a challenge.
That feeling is called self-confidence. It can be defined as a feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s own abilities or qualities. Being sure of our talents and abilities is essential in our careers and daily life.
The Lord wants us to have confidence without being arrogant or self-prompting. He wants us to have our confidence is Him and HIs word. Our total dependence in Him keeps us from carrying the burden of winning approval and acceptance.
Since we have been talking about absolutes I wanted to share this verse with you. It gives us insight in knowing God’s will and provides us with “the’ confidence.
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” I John 5:14-15
Knowing God’s will and praying or asking according to that will is a sure fire way to get our prayers answered with a yes every time. So what is God’s will and how can we know that we are asking according to it?
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7
Jesus put it this way to his disciples, if you abide or live in my word, then you can ask what you will and it will be done. We can conclude that God’s word is His will.
Some of us have written our last will and testament. In it we convey our final thoughts and desires and it is must be followed precisely by the executor. It’s the same for God. He has listed His will in His testaments.
When we pray what we see in God’s word and are living by the instructions in the Word, we can have “the confidence” that God will answer in a positive way.
No more wishy-washy wondering of “you just never know what God is going to do”. Yes, we do! He’s going to keep his word. He sent Jesus to tell the world what He was going to do and He’s not keeping secrets from us today – all we have to do is open the Book and we can find His will written in His word.
“ Jesus says yes to all of God’s many promises. It is through Jesus that we say, “Let it be so,” when we give thanks to God.” II Corinthians 1:20 NLV
If God made a promise, He will keep it. He can’t lie.
Sometimes we don’t see the answer immediately and we begin to doubt that we’re “good” enough to get an answer from God. God’s never given us anything based on our own merit so we mustn’t fall into that trap.
If that were the case none of us would get born again because we certainly weren’t deserving of that. That kind of thinking comes from a sense of self-confidence or a lack of it. The confidence that we need comes from trust in God’s abilities not our own.
When we’re waiting to see God’s word come to pass and our prayers to be answered we need to follow the instruction of these verses:
“Do not throw away your trust (confidence), for your reward will be great. 36 You must be willing to wait without giving up. After you have done what God wants you to do, God will give you what He promised you. ” Hebrews 10:35-36 NLV
Let “THE CONFIDENCE” in God’s word rule!