We will continue to get things wrong until the day we die but, as long as we trust in Him, His wonderful transforming power will continue to work in us and through us
We live in a world where having self-confidence is said to be desirable and very important. We are encouraged to stand up for ourselves, to feel our opinions matter, to believe that our views, values, and worldviews are justified and appropriate. There are masses of resources and courses on the internet about being more confident. Of course, confidence is necessary in certain situations, but promoting the idea that you are right all the time can lead to too much self-reliance and arrogance, sometimes with catastrophic results. 
dailydevotionalinchrist.com
As Christians shouldn’t we be relying on God instead of ourselves? God wants us to depend completely on him to handle things. It is not about our strength or our confidence, it’s about relying on God. If we rely on ourselves, we put our confidence in earthly things such as money, education, appearance and other people. All of these have a place in our lives but we should not be putting our trust in them to give us happiness and contentment or we will be sadly disappointed.
In Colossians 3:I-2 Paul says: Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
So then, what we need is not our own confidence but confidence in God that He will, through His Holy Spirit, give us the courage we need to carry out the things He has called us to do.
Psalm 56:3-4 says: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
David, who wrote this psalm, also killed the lion, the bear and Goliath, and was a successful leader in Israel’s army. He did not deny that he was afraid, yet he knew what to do with that fear. He boldly proclaimed his complete confidence in God despite his fear.
We, too, can live courageously in difficult circumstances when we confidently turn to God for strength and courage. And why wouldn’t we? I found this list of some of the attributes of God in an article I was reading:
God is infinite, self-sufficient and never changes. He is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipresent (He’s everywhere). He is wise, faithful, good and just. God is also merciful, gracious, loving, holy and glorious. This, of course is not a complete list but even with just the ones I have quoted here, surely trusting in Him is a no-brainer. As Christians we know that God is all these things and many more. So, if we know and believe the character of God how can we think for one minute He will let us down.
We need to have confidence in our Lord to answer our prayers and trust that He will do so in the way that is best for each of us. The word tells us that, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the curtain to the Holy of Holies has been torn in two and we can come with confidence right into the throne room of God. Wow!!
In Hebrews 4:16 it says: Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
faithbytheword.org
We are told in scripture not to give up but to persevere and to hold on to our confidence in the Lord and not to throw it away. In Hebrews 10:35 it says: So, do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
So let us keep hold of that confidence in Him. Let us believe with all our hearts He is working on us as we trust in Him. Let us be confident that we are a new creation brought about by the death and resurrection of Jesus. It does not come from our own best efforts or self- reliance but out of confidence in Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith. He certainly would not have brought us this far to abandon us now. He does not want anyone to perish. We will continue to get things wrong until the day we die but, as long as we trust in Him, His wonderful transforming power will continue to work in us and through us. As has often been said: He loves us too much to leave us as we are.
CH Spurgeon says, “Salvation would be a sadly incomplete affair, if it did not deal with the whole part of our ruined estate. We want to be purified as well as pardoned. Justification without sanctification would not be salvation at all. It would call the leper clean and leave him to die of his disease; it would forgive the rebellion and allow the rebel to remain an enemy of his King. It would remove the consequence but overlook the cause, and this would leave an endless and hopeless task before us”
Paul says in Philippians 1:6: For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
And again, while in prison, suffering for his faith Paul writes these words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:12: That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
This is the promise we lean on, that God, who began the good work will finish it.
Apparently, the word “confident” is the Greek word “peitho,” which is a judicial term. It was used to speak of a convincing argument that could be proven by undeniable facts and evidence. There would be absolutely no doubt about the outcome.
The same is true of us and God. If we continue to trust in Him there is no question that He will finish the work.
I found these words of a song that sum up what I am trying to say:
Don’t judge me yet, I’m an unfinished part.
I’ll be perfect just according to His plan,
Fashioned by the Master’s loving hand.
He's still working on me,
To make me what I ought to be.
It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars,
Jupiter, earth, the sun and Mars.
How loving and patient He must be;
He's still working on me.”
Let us be able to say, with true conviction: For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in me will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Author: Thelma Cameron
May God bless and enrich your life
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