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Do you lack confidence to try something new, to do your job with excellence, or to speak boldly about your faith? God has promised that in quietness and confidence shall be your strength (Is. 30:15). You must claim the confidence that God gives in order tolive in His will. How to have confidence: * Understand God's provision. God spoke through Hosea to Israel, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). We too often overlook or ignore God's desires for us - either through insufficient teaching or our own unwillingness to hear and claim the prize. * Know the Word of God. Joshua faced a considerable confidence crisis after the death of Moses. God spoke to him, As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, you shall meditate on it day and night...(Joshua 1:5, 8). God's Word was to be the main source of Joshua's confidence. Meditation is not just memorizing Bible verses in order to quote them, but is reading the Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak the revelation of God's message to your mind and spirit. It is deep continued thought on a verse or passage of the Bible until it becomes a part of your thought pattern. * Have communion with God. Confidence is found in maintaining a life of prayer and communication with the Lord. Hearing from God is a prerequisite to walking in spiritual authority. The greatest confidence you can have is knowing that you are in the will of God. * Remember past victories. Samuel set up a stone - and named it Ebenezer - to help Israel remember how the Lord had helped them in the battles against the Philistines (1 Sam. 7:12). God has a long track record of blessing His people. Recalling those victories will produce renewed confidence for your life. They are testimonies of God's faithfulness. * See others stand. Paul recognized that his imprisonment and severe persecution was motivation for others to become bold in their faith (Phil. 1:12-14). Look to those around you who, by their experience, can encourage you to press beyond your previous limitations. Likewise, others are watching you as an example of God's faithfulness. * Take a stand. Sometimes it's as simple as making up your mind that you are going to live confidently in God. This means standing up on the inside, determining to be optimistic regardless of the circumstances. Paul tells us...have done all, to stand (Eph. 6:13). Even though God has given you something, you often must fight to possess it, just as Israel had to fight against the Canaanites, Perizites, Hittites to possess their promised land. * Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Not only were the disciples baptized in the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost; they were refilled with the Spirit while praying together later during strong persecution in Jerusalem: And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31). You can be refilled with the Holy Spirit through your communion with God. |