Have Confidence (Liz Morris)

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The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, His righteousness lives in the fertile field. The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; it’s effect will be quietness and confidence forever. Isaiah 32:16-17

 

Are you a confident person? If you are, where does it come from? If you lack confidence, why?!

 

I love the image of a consistent and long-lasting type of confidence, a quiet confidence which is the fruit of peace born out of righteousness. It is such a contrast to the type of arrogant confidence that is so often screamed in our face in this world. I think we should shy away from that type of self-belief, but I’d like to think, that as Christians we can attain a calm biblical confidence. A confidence in ourselves that is based on God’s perfect love for each one of us with the surety of the calling that He has on our lives using the gifts He has given us. The type of confidence that Jesus displayed in the gospels, as He perfectly carried out His Father’s will and confidently claimed that He was The Way, The Truth and The Life.

 

Because of what Jesus has done for us, we too can have confidence based in the knowledge of God’s love and perfect plan for us. Sometimes we’ll falter, we know King David did not lead a perfect life, yet he sang in Psalm 71:5-6 ‘For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you’. We can have confidence, keep going, keep praising God and walk in a quiet, peaceful confidence. My daughter bluntly said to me recently, ‘pick up your mat and walk!’, we laughed, but it’s what we have to do, again and again.

 

Let’s pray: Jesus, you spoke words of life and the earth obeyed. You walked on water and you healed the sick. We want to follow you and have confidence like you have to do our Father’s perfect will. Send your Holy Spirit to help us exercise the gifts He has given us and help us walk in quiet, peaceful confidence. Amen     

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