Confidence is a very misunderstood concept, especially among Christians. We often think that confidence is the opposite of humility, but that’s simply not the case. No matter what you have heard, confidence is not the same thing as pride. God wants us to have confidence, but He wants our confidence to be grounded in His goodness. Today, experience the boost in confidence that you need.
Psalm 27:1-3 (NLT)
The Lord is my light and my salvation-so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.
It is widely debated what David was dealing with when he wrote this particular Psalm. Many of the Psalms that we have include some notes that tell us when they were written and what the writer was facing. Others have been tied to certain time periods by archeologists and Biblical historians. However, this one doesn’t have a lot of information.
Some Biblical scholars believe that David wrote this Psalm when he was waiting to take over the throne of Israel and Saul was trying to kill him. That would certainly make sense, as David spoke about evil people trying to devour him. Others believe that this was written after David had assumed the throne. That group typically says that David wrote this when he was under attack on every hand, which is why he said, “though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid.” Finally, there are some scholars that believe David wrote this Psalm near the end of his life, long after his fighting days were over.
While we don’t know for a certainty when David wrote this Psalm, we do know that David’s life was filled with trouble. One of the common themes that runs through David’s life is adversity. From the time that David was a young boy who had been forgotten by his family when Samuel was looking for Saul’s replacement to the day when he passed the kingdom onto Solomon, David spent his entire life in battle and conflict, dealing with adversity both in the natural and the supernatural.
David knew trouble, and David knew torment. However, David also knew God. That’s why David declared that he could remain confident. In the face of everything that he had ever had to battle against, David was fully aware of Who had kept Him.
There is a lot of misinformation surrounding confidence, especially among Christians. When we look at Christ’s commands for His people to be meek or humble, we often assume that means that we should never experience confidence. However, that is not the case. Not only does God want us to believe in the skills and abilities that He has blessed us with, He wants us to be fully confident in Him. Today, discover more about the confidence boost that you’ve been looking for.
Hezekiah’s Battle Against Sennacherib
2 Kings 18:19-20 (ESV)
And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me?’”
Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, was one of the strongest kings in the world at this time. His name literally meant, “loud noise.” Names during Biblical times were very important parts of a person’s makeup, and it’s certainly no secret that God included his name in Scripture.
One of Satan’s most powerful tools is the tool of distraction. We know that he doesn’t have the same type of power that our God has. However, when Satan wants to shake our confidence, he does so by making so much noise that we believe that he is stronger than he is. We often get so focused in the chaos that he creates that we lose sight of God’s calming presence in our lives.
Sennacherib asked Hezekiah where he had put his confidence. Moreover, Sennacherib asked the people of Judah where their confidence was placed, as he tried to make them doubt in Hezekiah and Jehovah.
The story of Hezekiah’s battle with Sennacherib isn’t only told in 2 Kings. It’s also recorded in 2 Chronicles. Take a look at another passage:
2 Chronicles 32:8 (ESV)
“With his is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
Hezekiah took Sennacherib’s noisy threats straight to God. In turn, God responded to Hezekiah’s prayer and his confidence. In fact, Hezekiah never even fought Sennacherib and his armies. Instead, the Bible says that God sent an angel, and that one angel destroyed thousands of Assyrian soldiers. When Sennacherib made it back to his homeland, he was murdered by his own sons in one of the temples that he had built for a false god.
When your confidence is in God, no attack that comes against you can prosper.
Job
Job 4:6 (ESV)
Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?
The Book of Job is a powerful example of a man who maintained his confidence in God, even when it seemed like he had reason to waiver. The beginning of Job’s story tells us about how he was a God-fearing, dedicated believer who found his identity in his relationship with God. When Satan sought the opportunity to test Job’s faith, God approved the test. However, there were rules that He put in place. Most of all, Satan was not allowed to take Job’s life.
However, he did wreak plenty of havoc without killing Job. First, all of Job’s livestock (and he was a wealthy man) were killed or taken away. Secondly, Job lost all of his children to a horrible death when the house where they were having dinner fell in on them. Through it all, Job maintained his confidence, not in himself, but in his God.
We often try to derive our confidence from our status. If Job had taken that approach, he would have never been able to rebound from the loss of his livestock. In Biblical times, the amount of livestock that a person owned was the equivalent to money. Livestock could be traded, sold, and was essentially its own form of currency. In a single day, Job went from one of the wealthiest men in the east to being bankrupt. However, his confidence was never in the things that he owned.
We also often look for our confidence in the relationships that we have. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with having healthy, thriving relationships, especially within your family, it’s crucial that you find your true identity in your relationship with Christ. If Job had placed his entire identity in his role within his family, he would have been completely lost when his kids were gone.
While Job’s friends, including the one who spoke to him in the verse that we just read, proved to be miserable comforters and terrible friends, the point that Eliphaz made proved to be true. Job’s reverence and trust in God was his confidence, and because of that confidence, Job didn’t waiver in the face of incredible loss. Despite his financial and personal devastation, Job maintained his faith in God, and because of that, God gave Job twice as much as he lost.
When your confidence is placed firmly in God, nothing that you face can shake you, just like David said in Psalm 27.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help me to place my full confidence in You. Instead of looking to the things that I’ve accomplished or the things that I can do, help me to trust solely in Your strength, power, and goodness. I know that You are always working for my good. In Christ’s name I pray, Amen.