That depends on how you define it. Is your confidence
mainly grounded in yourself or God?
No one will ever listen to
you or follow you if you lack confidence. Can a general lead his army into
battle if he lacks confidence – that which reflects guts as well as clear thinking,
enabling him to map out a strategy to fight his enemies?
Confidence is not only
desirable but crucial and necessary.
A person’s confidence is a
reflection of his or her self-esteem*, which is often built on past experiences,
successes, achievements and the commendation he or she receives from others.
But confidence has its
drawbacks. Too much confidence can lead to pride. Overconfidence (when a person
has absolutely no anxiety) can also cause poor performance, according to Yerkes-Dodson Law. Athletes realise that when they are overconfident,
they tend to train less. As a result, their performance suffers.
The
apostle Paul revealed that he was quivering in fear when he shared the Good
News with those at Corinth (1 Corinthians 2: 1-5):
When I came
to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I
proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus
Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great
fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with
wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your
faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
Elsewhere he states
that his competence is from God and not from himself (2 Corinthians 3: 4-6):
Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we
are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us
competent as ministers of a new covenant —not of the
letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
So much for
confidence — or rather, the lack of it — in
a spiritual leader. With knees knocking and butterflies fluttering around in his stomach,
he still became the greatest apostle of all time and the one who was largely
responsible for setting the tone of New Testament (NT) doctrine — as
he wrote most of the books in the NT.
One may lack the credentials which the world usually looks up to. But when it comes to the work of His kingdom, it’s God’s
empowerment that matters most.
Let us bow down in
humble adoration before God. Let us lay down all our achievements and degrees as
well as our inborn gifts and talents at His feet. And ask Him to make them
subservient to His special anointing on our lives.
David relied on the
sling and five stones to slay Goliath. He had to lay down the heavy, cumbersome
armour and sword — weapons traditionally relied upon to
win a battle.
Let us rely
primarily on the Holy Spirit rather than place our confidence on what we have
achieved or our natural giftings. And then make confident strides into battle
and advance His kingdom.
“The
horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord” (Proverbs
21:31).
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