By WALT ALBRITTON
Confidence! A treasure of extraordinary value.
You must have it. Life cannot be lived well without it.
What is it? Confidence is the belief or feeling that you can rely on someone or something. It is a feeling of certainty about the truth of something. It is feeling sure of yourself and your abilities.
Think of it as trust. When you have confidence in your boss, your pastor, your spouse or the team of people with whom you work, it means that you trust them. Having confidence in yourself gives you the self-assurance that you can accomplish a task assigned to you.
When you are sick, you need confidence in your doctor. When your car needs repair, you seek out a mechanic you trust. In every arena of life, confidence is a necessary ingredient.
If you lose confidence in the faithfulness of your spouse, your marriage will begin to crumble. Cynicism may poison your mind if you lose confidence in the integrity of your boss or your colleagues. Without confidence in your own giftedness, you will not be able to work effectively. Confidence! You dare not leave home without it.
Confidence is no less important in the spiritual realm. Christian faith, for example, is confidence in God. I ran across a delightful phrase in the New Testament book known as Hebrews. In chapter 10, the writer implores us to not “throw away” our confidence. And he explains why: so that our faith may be “richly rewarded.” He goes on to say, “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”
The writer was addressing Christians who were being tempted, by persecution and suffering, to lose confidence in God and in what he had done for them in Christ. To persevere requires confidence in God, and unless we remain faithful to the end, we shall not receive the rewards God has promised. The writer closes chapter 10 by declaring with hope, “We are not of those who shrink back, and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”
My heart leaped within me as I read that! I thought, “Yes, Lord, I will not shrink back when suffering and death tempt me to lose confidence in You. I will stand firm with those who believe! So I scribbled a list of beliefs in which I have confidence.
God is love. He is not the author of sickness but hurts with us when we suffer.
God is faithful. He keeps his promises.
God is like Jesus. When I look at Jesus, I see God.
God does not lie. Satan is the father of lies.
God can change a repentant sinner into a servant of Jesus.
The Bible is not merely a book; it is THE BOOK containing God’s guidelines for living.
Jesus died on the cross so our sins could be forgiven. God raised Jesus from the dead. Since then, the Risen Lord has invited all people of every race to come to Him and be saved and receive the gift of eternal life.
In these beliefs I have confidence. If your circumstances are tempting you to lose confidence in God, I know how that feels. I have been in that dark hole of doubt. But Jesus led me out of that darkness! So I plead with you, don’t throw away your confidence! Keep it. Nurture it. Treasure it. Strengthen it! Hold on to it so that one day you can claim the rich reward God has promised to all who believe.
