HOW’S YOUR CONFIDENCE?

There’s a song by Mandisa, a Christian singer and a former American Idol, called The Truth About Me that describes what a lot of us probably feel much of the time .….

“If only I could see me as You see me
And understand the way that I am loved
Would it give a whole new meaning to my purpose?
Change the way I see the world.
Would I sparkle like a star in the night sky?
Would I give a little more instead of take?
If I understood I’m precious like a diamond
Of a worth no one could estimate
I’m a worth no one could estimate.
You say lovely, I say broken
I say guilty, You say forgiven
I feel lonely, You say You’re with me
We both know it would change everything
If only I believed the truth about me.”

God tells us in His word that we are lovely, we are forgiven, and that He is always with us even when we don’t feel worthy or confident.  We can trust Him that we are worthy of His love and goodness in our everyday lives.  God wants us to get our self-worth and our confidence from Him, not our position in the world, not our jobs, not our spouse or our friends.  Our power to live, earn money, and even breathe comes from the God of the Universe who took special care to make us perfect, inside and out.

Gideon didn’t think he was anyone special.  In fact he felt he was the “least of his family.”  Yet God had placed strength and confidence inside of Gideon and had a plan for him.  God chose Gideon, a poor farmer, to be a deliverer for the Israelites.  In the Bible the book of Judges (chapters 6-8) tells us how a tribe of people called the Midianites began to destroy the Israelites along with their flocks and all their crops.  God then sent an angel to speak to Gideon.  The angel called Gideon a mighty warrior and told him to go and use the strength God had placed inside of him to save his countrymen from the Midianites.

At first Gideon struggled with doubt and feelings of inferiority:   “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied (to the angel), “but how can I save Israel?  My clan (family) is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”  NIV.

The “Message” version puts it this way, “Me, my master?  How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me.  My clan’s the weakest in Manasseh and I’m the runt of the litter.”

Gideon saw himself as weak and made excuses as to why he was not able to obey God.  Yet God told Gideon “I will be with you.”  God gave Gideon His promise that He would be with him and give him the strength and confidence he would need to overcome and defeat the enemy.  Gideon then took courage and knocked down his town’s altar to Baal where they worshipped idols.  Once he took that action Gideon was then filled with the Spirit of God and attacked the vast Midianite army with only a handful of men and successfully destroyed them.

We have this same power from God within us.  God tells us in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (fear), but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

I’ve tried to imagine what we look like in God’s eyes and I can visualize Him seeing us as a mighty oak tree.  Oak trees are hardy trees with long lives and can live up to 200 years or more.  Mature oak trees can draw nearly 50 or more gallons of water on a daily basis through their root system (their foundation). Consequently, they need to be well watered.   Oak trees are also generally free from pests and disease.  They have strong branches and tree structure, and they are a symbol of strength and endurance.

In God’s eyes, we are all like a mighty oak tree – strong and unbending with endurance and confidence.   We only need to water our roots to grow and strengthen our foundation, which is built upon Christ and His word.  The more we soak in, the more we grow.  And remember, whatever is in the oak tree was also there in the beginning in the form of an acorn!  You may feel like the little acorn right now but God is getting ready to make you blossom!  He is not finished with you.  You have hope through Him and you have a purpose!

Do not treat God’s word lightly or let Satan make you doubt that God is really working in you.  You have power and you have confidence because God planted it inside of you long ago.  Now go out and water your roots and see what God will do!