Finding Confidence, Monday, March 29, 2010

Confidence comes from knowing who we are in Christ as we live for his purposes.

Verla Gillmor writes, "if your raw data is flawed, you end us with a faulty conclusion.  The same is true with how we see ourselves.  If we lack self-confidence, maybe we're working with flawed data."  It's easy to see the evidence of this flawed data:  perpetually worried expressions, stressed-out kids, wasted gifts, credit card bills with too many charges for the clothes and beauty products that promised to make us look perfect.  This can't be the life God created us for.

How can we know and enjoy the special gifts God has given us?  What does it mean to be God's beloved?  How can we cultivate godly confidence?  These are the questions we'll explore in this study.

Based on:

"Need a Confidence Boost?," by Verla Gillmor, TODAY'S CHRISTIAN WOMAN, May/June 2000.

Scripture:

Psalm 71:5-6                     Jeremiah 17:5-7          1 Corinthians 12:4-26
Proverbs 3:25-26              John 16:27                  2 Corinthians 5:17-19
Romans 8:38-39               James 2:14-17

Identify the Current Issue

In hundreds of subtle (and not-so-subtle!) ways, our culture, family, friends - even our thought life - conspire to undermine our confidence.  We grow up in families void of affirmation, encouragement, and respect - the building blocks to self-confidence.  Then we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of a world that lionizes Size Zero Holly wood starlets and Barbie-doll figures.  Our paycheck, our title, our designer labels, or come other artificial yardstick gives us temporary entree into the world of The Accepted.  But in our hearts, we know it isn't real.  How do we find our way to the truth?

To gain confidence in ourselves, we have to lose a few things first.  We have to stop comparing ourselves to the girl (or woman) next door.  We have to give up self-doubt and self-loathing.  We have to recognize the lies we believe about ourselves, turn them over to God and replace them with the truths God knows about us.  Only then can we have to confidence to be all that God has planned for us.

Discover the Eternal Principles

Monday:  Confidence comes from an absolute trust in God.  Psalm 71:5-6; Proverbs 3:25-26.

1. In the passage from Psalm 71, what words does the psalmist use to express his trust in God?  When you read this passage, do you note any doubt in his trust in God?
2. Proverbs 3:25-26 instructs us that we should have confidence in the Lord.  Do you believe that you can have true confidence in yourself without first having confidence in God and His absolute sovereignty?
3. Jeremiah 17:5-7 contrasts the lives of men who put their trust in man versus those who put their trust in the Lord.  What do you think Jeremiah is referring to when he speaks of trust in this passage?  Does this mean that we should doubt everything men say or do, or does he mean something deeper?
4. Can you honestly say that you have an absolute trust in God?  At all times?  Are there any other verses that you can point to in the Bible that remind you of the need for absolute trust in God?
5. God never makes mistakes.  Therefore, if God has placed you in a particular circumstance, He must know what He is doing.  Has there ever been a time in your life that you felt you were following the Lord, but you had no idea what the outcome would be?  In these situations, did you draw closer to God and rely on Him more, or did you turn to yourself and/or other people for your needs?
6. Self-confidence can be a double-edged sword.  We want to celebrate the gifts and talents we have been given, while continuing to remember that it is God and not us who should get the glory.  How do you, or can you, have a Biblical confidence in your abilities and talents?