Where Is Your Confidence?

When you have confidence, you feel as if you can do anything! You may have challenges and problems, but you always find some way to work around them. But, when you have confidence in God and in your God-given abilities, nothing can stop you from achieving greatness—not any person or circumstance. Instead of working around your problems and challenges, you use the Name of Jesus to completely move them out of the way!

So, what is confidence?

Confidence is a firm belief that you have in your God-given abilities, which translates into assurance that you will achieve your goal and perform well. It’s actually the catalyst that causes you to feel worthy of success and propels you to achieve at the highest level. The only person standing in the way of your success is your own lack of confidence. It’s not other people or the devil; it’s not even your imperfections or weaknesses.

God has great confidence in you, and He wants to affirm you so that you know it and act like it. But, it is impossible to have confidence in God and not have confidence in your abilities. In II Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:10, and Philippians 1:6 and 2:13, the Bible talks about whose creation we are; whom we are in Christ; what work or purpose God has started in us; and how He is working in us to finish the purpose He began. So, to have confidence in God is to have confidence in His work, His creation—you! Self-doubt equals God-doubt, and when you doubt yourself, you’re saying that God’s work is flawed.

Now, what does a confident person look like? 

Let’s look at the life of David in I Samuel 17. There are seven (7) traits we can find to describe the confident person:

1. Confident people view situations differently. (verses 26, 29, 45)
2. Confident people respond to criticism a certain way. (verses 28-30)
3. Confident people respond to the word “NO” in a certain way—a “NO” now does not necessarily mean a “NO” later.
4. Confident people encourage themselves by rehearsing past victories—you encourage yourself in the Lord.
5. Confident people dress a certain way. (verses 38-40)
6. Confident people talk a certain way. (verses 46-47)
7. Confident people approach problems and challenges in a certain way—they face them and don’t get intimidated. (verse 48)

In order for David to be confident, he had to think like a winner and be confident in himself before he could even act out on the seven (7) traits previously mentioned. There are five (5) characteristics that confident people must have in their mindsets before they can act out in confidence:

1. They must be comfortable in their own skin.
2. They must purposefully seek the counsel of others.
3. They must expect and welcome constructive feedback—feedback is essential to personal growth.
4. They must establish boundaries.
5. They must be committed to sharing knowledge, skill, and influence with others, helping others to achieve.

Symptoms of an insecure person:

Now that we’ve outlined the confident person, let’s look at the insecure person. Insecurity is feeling unsure or uncertain, having self-doubt, doubting yourself and your calling, and feeling inadequate. It’s basically any “feeling” of inferiority or unimportance.

So, what do insecure people act like?

• They are not comfortable in their own skin.
• They are very competitive—outdo others.
• They resist receiving negative feedback—see it as a personal attack.
• They have a hard time saying “NO.”
• They view seeking wisdom as a sign of weakness.
• They don’t affirm or empower others—won’t tell others what they know because they don’t want anyone else to get the advantage.
• They brag about acquaintances, accomplishments, etc.
• They go to extreme measure to prove they are right.
• They are extremely hard on themselves, especially when they fail.
• They have more confidence in others and their abilities than in themselves.
• They consistently feel that people are against them.
• They feel that they need to win every argument.
• They feel that they need to defend their integrity.
• They become upset when people disagree with their opinion.
• They become anxious when they think someone will take their place—always watching others.

The only way to overcome insecurity is to be rooted and grounded in God’s love for you (Ephesians 3:17). That means you have to spend time in the Word of God and find out what He says about you. Your identity must come from knowing God and His love for you and not in your accomplishments or the people you know.

Don’t be fearful; overcome it!

Fear usually comes along with insecurity. Most times, insecure people are afraid to do what would help them overcome. Fear has three (3) components: 

1. It’s an emotion.

• It’s an unpleasant emotion cause by danger.
• It can turn into panic and hysteria.
• Example—A person can have an intense reluctance to face or meet a person or situation.
• Example—A person can avoid a path or activity due to anxious concern or doubt.

2. It’s a spirit.

• 2 Timothy 1:7—God has not given us the spirit of fear.
• It’s an evil entity or being.
• We must confess that we don’t have the spirit of cowardice.

3. It’s an action.

• Just like Jesus saw faith, He can also see fear.
• Faith and fear are both actions that can be seen. So, which one are you operating under?