Behavior 12 - The Confidence Habit - Introduction

Success comes in cans, not in can'ts. (Anonymous)

This weeks chapter comes with a burning question and it's right in the very first sentence!   Can confidence become a habit, or is it something that we must wait to feel?

I don't know about you but I'm either feeling confident or I'm not.  Sometimes something as simple as an outfit can leave me feeling very confident! I walk with my head held high and a certain energy in my step. There is an air about me that no one can touch.  But what happens when I take that outfit off and replace it tomorrow with a different one; one that doesn't make me feel so good or confident?  This confidence is stemming direct from the outfit;. Temporary confidence.  This is confidence stemming from something other than God.

Having confidence is hard.  Almost everywhere you go you will hear conversations about self-confidence.  If you have it, people see it.  It is is like you have a burning aura that outlines your body.  You stand out.  You walk with it, talk with it and there is no mistake, YOU have mastered the art of self- confidence!  But, is this confidence built in the Lord or in  YOU?

God's Word  teaches us that we need to find our confidence in Christ - not in ourselves or in anyone else. If we attempt to gain confidence by reaching out to our Holy Spirit, when we gain that confidence it will last a lifetime. The bible give us scripture after scripture full of promises that everything we need is within Him. 

Joyce gives us 5 scriptures to encourage us as we work on gaining lasting confidence in ourselves.  Those are as follows:

• You are loved perfectly and completely. (I John 4:16-18)
• You are accepted and will never be rejected by Him if you believe (John 3:18)
• You have talents and abilities (Romans 12:6)
• God created you uniquely and you should not compare yourselves with others. (Psalm 139:13-16)
• You can do whatever you need to do through Christ and not be afraid of failing. (Phil 4:14)

All of this is great information; however does knowing these scriptures exist give us that confidence we wish to illuminate from our bodies?  NO,  Joyce reminds us that we have to study The Word, we need to speak and memorize these scriptures.  We need to allow them to soak into our consciousness, to replace the negative, and any doubts.  We need to allow them to renew our minds, to change our attitudes about ourselves. It takes effort and practice.  This will not happen overnight.

We can either believe what we think and what other people say or we can believe God is the best and most reliable choice and do whatever we can to find and build our confidence with Him.

Prayer:  Dear God, please be with each of us this week.  Allow us to focus on renewal so that we can become the teachers God requires so we can spread this good news to others regarding confidence.  We love you. Honor. and Praise you.

Challenge:  Set aside some time in your journal this week to read the above scripture as well as search for additional scripture that you can share with others that need to find self-confidence, or better put - confidence in Him.

Love, Kelley