Listen: Chris Witts presents Morning Devotions.
By Chris WittsSaturday 27 Feb 2021Morning Devotions with Chris WittsDevotionsReading Time: 4 minutes
I have an idea that if you’ve been through a tough experience, your confidence level dropped dramatically. The two seem to go hand in hand. Life has a habit of knocking us down, and our positive attitudes turn to negative ones—and we feel like a total loser.
Life has its ups and downs. There are moments when we’re riding high and feeling invincible. And then those not-so-great times when life only drags us down. If you’re going through such a time now, please keep listening to me.
During those darker periods, our confidence tends to hit rock bottom. We hesitate and doubt ourselves. We forget who we are and what we’re supposed to be doing, and every single aspect of our life is affected. We compare ourselves to others. But these challenging moments can be positive. In the face of adversity, we learn more about ourselves. Discover our strengths. And our weaknesses.
And, when we start to recover, we take those lessons and apply them to our life—as many others have done and come through the dark tunnel. Why do we give ourselves a hard time, comparing ourselves to the rest of the world?
- I’m not good enough.
- I’m overweight, and look ugly.
- I can’t be comfortable in a group of friends because I’m self-conscious.
You Don’t Need to Struggle Alone
The wonderful fact about the Christian faith is this: You don’t need to struggle alone—but the best alternative is to have confidence in a loving God. Put your trust and confidence in him instead of yourself. And think about this: God’s way for your life is better than what you have planned yourself.
We have to make so many decisions, and we will sometimes get them wrong. Isn’t it better to allow our Heavenly Father to guide your decision making? The Psalmist in Psalm 16 in the Old Testament has his words:
Your pleasant path leads me to pleasant places.
I’m overwhelmed by the privileges
that come with following you,
for you have given me the best!
The way you counsel and correct me makes me praise you more,
for your whispers in the night give me wisdom,
showing me what to do next.
Because you are close to me and always available,
my confidence will never be shaken,
for I experience your wrap-around presence every moment.
My heart and soul explode with joy—full of glory!
Even my body will rest confident and secure. (Psalm 16:6-9 – The Passion Translation).
Life is more than negative emotions and insecurities—for we have a God who is strong and will never change. He loves us too much. And sometimes we must slow down and spend time in private prayer, reading verses from the Bible and meditating on them.
Sometimes we must slow down and spend time in private prayer.
So I’m talking about building your confidence in God, not yourself. Of course you have to allow your own personality and abilities to shine, and not shrink back. But living each day in partnership with God will give a joy in your life which will surprise you, and impress others. Learning how to have a better relationship with God is similar. It doesn’t happen by accident.
Make a Priority to Spend Time with God
You grow closer to God by choosing to make time for him. A deep, confident walk of faith starts with a decision to pursue God. James 4:8 says that if we draw near to God, he will draw near to us.
We develop more confidence in our walk with the Lord when we make spending time with him and in his Word a priority. It’s about feeding ourselves spiritually. The more we do this, the stronger our confidence in our relationship with God will be. Spending time with God daily is the most essential decision one can make in regards to deep spiritual growth. God says to trust him, to seek him. Let God renew your mind and change the way you think, so you will know how to respond in any situation.
Each day, remind yourself how big God is. Read his Word and remind yourself of his miracles and promises.
The exciting thing about a relationship with God is that it is an adventure. God is constantly working on me, pruning the sin and pride in my heart, and challenging my faith. I don’t need to know what will happen in the future because I trust who is in control. Therefore, I can be confident that the best is yet to come.
A relationship with God is an adventure.
We live in a world where self-confidence is the phrase of the 21st century. There’s so much talk about self-confidence and how important it is. While, yes, confidence is important—but as a Christian, do we really think we should be relying on ourselves instead of God? Absolutely not.
God-confidence—rather than self-confidence—means depending completely upon God and his strength to handle the things in your life. It’s not about your strength or the confidence that you put into earthly things. Having a worldly focus means putting your confidence into things like money, education, people and appearance. Having a Godly focus means to seek those things from above. When you have to choose, choose God and his path of righteousness. Just remember that God has a purpose for you. So we need to serve him regardless of how we feel about ourselves.
I know, though, that I can get all of the confidence that I need simply by putting my faith and trust in him. Proverbs 3:26 (NKJV) says, “The Lord will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught”.