Where is Your Confidence?

Confidence is defined as the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something. It is a firm trust and state of feeling certain about the truth of something. When you have confidence in something, it is usually unshakeable and there isn’t anything that can take it away. Life can be pretty difficult sometimes, but if you have confidence in God’s unfailing love for you, when difficult things come your way, you will rest secure in that confidence that tells you no matter what you are going through, God loves you, is with you, and hears you. What a great security! In Psalm 118, you can see a clear picture of this laid out. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Let all Israel repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.” Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.” Let all who fear the Lord repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.” In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. Though hostile nations surrounded me, I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord. Yes, they surrounded and attacked me, but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord. They swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a crackling fire. But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord. My enemies did their best to kill me, but the Lord rescued me. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” (1-14) The psalmist had great confidence in the Lord. When life was tough, he held on and he trusted the Lord to not only take care of him, but to also take care of his enemies. God had given him victory. Victory is yours as well. God loves you greatly. He sees everything you are going through and he hears you when you cry out to him. When I lost my job in 2007 and the uncertainty of what was going to happen to me was looming over my head every day, I didn’t have confidence in anything. It was so hard for me to trust that everything would work out when I wasn’t seeing any progress, but I can tell you that through this experience and difficult time in my own life, I have seen just how much God does love me through those around me who God sent to encourage me and help me. When I lost my job, it was right before Christmas. Actually it was the day after my 26th birthday. My church at the time had a tradition of exchanging Christmas cards. When I picked up the stack of cards with my name on them, I was in no way prepared for what I would find. I opened up the first card and in it was some money. There was no signature, just a hand written note that said “God is good ALL the time” I immediately started to cry. There were several of these cards, with no signature and with the very same words of encouragement in each of them. I was blown away by the generosity of those whom I couldn’t even thank! I still have those cards as a reminder that God is good ALL the time. It’s the truth! He always provided for me and he still does! God took care of me and he still does. God will take care of you! If you are going through a difficult time in your life place your hope and confidence in the Lord. He will be with you each and every step of the way. No matter what happens, he will always love you, he will never leave you and he will never forsake you. Where does your confidence lie? In man? Or in God?