Living With Confidence

Chuckle: Sign on an Optometrist's Office: "If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place."

Quote: "Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.” --Michael O'Brien

LIVING WITH CONFIDENCE

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that we ask anything according to his will and he hears us" (I John 5:14 NIV). "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised" (Hebrews) 10:35-36 NIV).

Have you noticed how some Christians exude confidence and optimism in every circumstance. Nothing seems to get them down. They have an aura of inner peace and contentment about them. Sometimes those who have the most reasons to be depressed and discouraged become blessings to others because they have such confidence in God's ability to sustain them. They inspire others to examine their own faith and dependence upon God. They always have a smile and a positive word no matter how difficult times may be for them. they just have too much going for them.

We can have confidence in approaching God in prayer. "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16 NIV). As we pray, our confidence grows from knowing our prayers are consistent with the will of the Father. When we align our prayers with His will, He will listen and give us a definite answer. We should pray with confidence!

We can have confidence that God is with us in every circumstance. In our Hebrews 10 passage, we are encouraged not to abandon confidence in our faith in times of disappointments and trials; but rather to show by our endurance that our faith is real. Because of what Christ has done for us, we should have confidence that He will sustain us today and in the future. God has promised never to leave us or forsake us. Such a promise should build our confidence in God's presence, provision, and protection no matter what we face in this life.

We can have confidence that our eternal home is being prepared. Jesus said, "I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:2b-3 NIV). This is a promise from our Lord himself and if you have trusted Christ as Savior you can take it to the bank. As believers, we need not fear death. I once sat by the bedside of a dying godly aunt. As we talked, she blessed my heart when she said she was not afraid of death. She had accepted the fact that her earthly life was drawing to a close and saw death as a part of life. She was confident that even though she was walking "through the valley of the shadow of death, she feared no evil, for God was with her" (Psalm 23:4 NIV).

I pray your confidence in your Lord and His Word will grow, while depending upon the companionship and strength of His Holy Spirit to meet every need in your life.

Love, Jerry & Dotse